A Whole New World
by weixuan18
Summary: The destiny of the Sennin has brought him here. This will be his last journey, and at the end of it, he will finally be allowed to rest. The changes he will bring, the actions he will take, will make this a whole new world. He is Uzumaki Naruto.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Yeah, guys. Hi. Er… I'm not sure what to say, I mean, I don't even know why I'm writing this fic instead of updating all my other ones, but oh, I can't help it. I haven't written anything in a long time other than reports, reviews, more reports and more reviews. To be honest, I got bored of Naruto and Bleach for a while, and then I just got lazy. It's selfish yes, but I can't help it. So, I was rewatching One Piece. Yes you heard me. All 500 something episodes of it. And I thought, well I've always said I wanted to write a Naruto/One Piece crossover… Yea. I got bored. Again. **_

_**Anyway, see how this one goes. It's another one of my 'random' ideas. I wrote this because… I like Naruto/One piece crossovers, they're so fun! But there's only a handful of good ones, so just like my first fic, I wrote this one because I wanted to see this stuff happen. Alright, let's get this show started. **_

_**A Whole New World**_

_**Prologue**_

In all honesty, no one really knew where this kid came from. Kids aren't usually brought back to the Holy Land Mariejois, headquarters of the Marines just like that, especially not by vice-admirals that are supposed to be on an extremely secretive mission.

"What is the meaning of this Garp? Are you _trying_ to drive me insane?"

The infamous vice-admiral of the Marines, known for his completely unpredictable personality as well as iron fists of justice, was currently sipping on his tea.

"Eh? I thought you were insane already. Gahahaha!"

"GARP!"

Just like any other day, in the office of Sengoku, another shouting row was about to begin.

"Can you explain to me, just why you felt it was the, quote, 'right thing to do', by bringing back this… this child!" It would seem that the supreme commander had difficulty understanding the actions of his irritating 'friend', as usual.

"That is because I am the Hero of the marines." The huge smile plus that bear-like laugh that came with the answer did nothing to amuse Sengoku.

"BE SERIOUS!"

"Zzzzzz…"

"WAKE UP!"

"Ah, I fell asleep."

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, GARP!"

"Okay, okay, geez, calm down, you might die of low blood pressure at this rate. Or was it high? Gahahaha!"

Sounds of the desk cracking under the pressure of fists were heard, and as the saying goes, if looks could kill… there probably still would be a Garp somewhere somehow.

"The brat was bored and said he wanted to come with me. He seemed interesting, so I let him tag along."

The glare got even worse once the reason was heard, "You brought back… a five year old, because he was _bored_."

"Ya."

"… Get out of my office."

"Gahaha, this tea is really nice…"

"GET OUT OF MY DAMN OFFICE YOU PIECE OF –"

"Whoa whoa, okay, okay, calm dow – "

"NOW!"

Crashes of furniture and pulling of hair sound effects can be heard, though seeing Garp walk out completely unharmed was quite amusing. At least for Kuzan it was.

"Ara, Sengoku-san seems to be kinda angry, don't you think?"

"Feh, that old fart is always angry."

"I CAN HEAR YOU GOD DAMN IT!"

"See? Anyway, so, what'd you think of the kid?"

"Hm? I don't believe I've had time to interact with him."

Scratching his beard, the vice-admiral frowned, "Why's that?"

"I believe he is getting quite acquainted with Tsuru-san."

"… I don't like the sound of that."

It was a known fact that the great tactician was the only one in the marines that took no nonsense from Garp, constantly picking on his bad habits, not afraid of giving him a good scolding when need be. Though in recent years, she seemed to have gotten tired of that too, since Garp never changed the way he did things no matter what she said, so she settled for indifference. Though she had a kind heart within her… somewhere… she rarely let it show since there wasn't anyone worthy in this marine force, at least that was what she said.

To think that the brat would be with her for the past, wait how long was it?

"It's been three hours."

"Right, three hours."

To think the that the brat would be with her for the past three hours, the chaos that would eventually ensue would be…

"Horrifiying, yes."

"Kuzan, what do you say you and I go arrest some pirates in the south blue? Eh? That seems like a good three month trip! Gahahaha!"

"Admiral Aokiji has other matters to attend to, unlike some irresponsible oafs that know nothing about tending to a poor little child." Speaking of the devil, a thin, elder woman with grey hair tied in a bun appeared in the hallway, staring apathetically at the hero of the marines.

"Ah? Well, well, isn't this Tsuru! It's been a long time!" Garp was completely unaware of the vibes of anger that seemed to roll off Tsuru and continued having his wide grin plastered on his face.

Adjusting his glasses, Kuzan gave a slight cough, "Well, if you excuse me then." A man knew when he needed to retreat; this was why he was a vice-admiral.

Not even looking at the Ice general, Tsuru kept her eyes locked onto the vice-admiral, eyes that could have made anyone else feel extremely small. But this was Garp, the most clueless marine there ever was. Hence the effect was moot.

"Would you care to explain why you treated him that way?"

"Treated who what way?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"That brat made fun of me! He didn't show me the respect I deserve! He braided my beard!" Shouting out the first things that came to his head when it came to the brat, Garp felt extremely proud for providing such reasonable excuses for manhandling… er, _treating_ the little bastard. Er, brat. He meant brat.

"Your thoughts are not very personal if you say them out loud." Came the cool reply. Needless to say, she was not pleased.

"So? What do you want? Did the brat die or something?"

"No. That young gentleman went to take a nap an hour ago, because you found it funny to tie him to the head of the marine ship and leave him there." Those black orbs of hers stared at him without a hint of life within them.

"Well, I fell asleep so – "

"You fell asleep and saw it fit to leave a five year old boy tied to the front of a ship as you crossed the calm belt –"

" – But it seemed fun!"

" – where it was filled with Sea-king monsters all over the place –"

"Hey it's not like he got eaten."

" – Where he was almost eaten alive?"

"I like the way you're raising your voice by like an octave as you go. 'Cos, you know, your voice is pretty deep, so that was like four octaves, or was it five?"

"Monkey D. Garp, I'm warning you."

"What? Is that what the brat told you! I can tell you right now that everything he said was the truth! I'm not lying!"

And silence ensued. For a few seconds, before Tsuru rolled up her sleeves, "So he was telling the truth hm?"

Gaping slightly, "Just what _did_ he tell you? You seem awfully mad."

"Countless things, which I didn't think could be true, but judging from your earlier responses, I now deem to be perfectly possible." Activating the powers of the _Woshu Woshu no mi_, the elderly woman prepared to 'clean' the idiot standing before her.

"Now see here! I am a vice-admiral too! And I will not be pushed around by a grandma like you!" Garp huffed, then, "Zzzzz…" He fell asleep.

Eyebrows twitching, Tsuru gritted her teeth, "You just don't change, do you?"

Just as she was about to wash the old fool, a flash of light rushed past her, and in her arms, she held the cute little five ear old from before, "Tsuru-obaa-chan!" Waving his arms happily, the kid placed a soft kiss on her cheek, before grinning happily, "I won!"

Blinking at his sudden appearance, the old woman relaxed her poise and regained her composure, taking on the role of a loving grandmother as she gently rocked her arms, "Oh? And what did you win in, Naru-chan?"

"I won that yellow man in a race!" was his reply.

Yellow man. Yellow man. How many yellow men were there in the marine?

"Did he look like a barbaric monkey, Naru-chan?"

"Hm, yeah!"

"I see. You just beat Borsalino in speed." Rolling her eyes, "And what did I tell you before?"

Naruto cheerfully mimicked her eye movement before cooing, "To have fun and be happy!"

"No, I said to lie down and rest, you silly boy."

"Aw, but Tsuru-obaa-chan, I was bored." Those puppy-eyes had tremendous effect on all ladies, be it young or old.

"Haha, are you trying to charm me into letting you do whatever you want, Naru-chan?" Those cold black orbs now held a gentle warmth in them, a welcome change to the normally serious woman.

"Noooo~ I'm just trying to get you to have fun!"

"Haha, okay, I trust you." Nuzzling his cheek affectionately, the old woman chuckled, "What do you say we go get some afternoon tea?"

"Yay! I was getting hungry!"

It was on this day that a faint bond began to form between the Great Tactician and the future Crimson Storm. No one knew how the Crimson Storm had such a success right off the bat, but Tsuru knew. Even as she doted on the five year old, the woman knew that this was no ordinary child. Those eyes have seen far too much to be that of a young innocent boy. But she made herself a promise, until the day Naru-chan tells her everything, she would not ask him a thing.

The Great Tactician had chosen to trust the boy because the essence within his being was calling out to her, it was like the Nature around her was telling her to let down her defenses and let the boy into her circle. She didn't have the heart in her to say no to such an energetic ball of fluff. She was old and had to deal with idiots and troublesome matters all day long, pirates this, pirates that, she had had enough. She needed something to lighten up her life, and then this boy came.

This incredible boy who had the ability to endure all of Garp's tortures, outrun Borsalino, and negate Sakazuki's fiery touch. This was a gem, sent to her for refining, and by god she was going to do it, she was going to make him the strongest Marine there ever was, and maybe then, her dream might come true, the dream before she became a bitter old lady.

The dream of True Justice.

Not absolute, but true. Unlike that moron Sengoku, she didn't believe in extremes. She was taught to look at every single possibility and always leaving room for the impossible, and that was why she was known as the Great Tactician, because in her books, anything can happen.

She wasn't naïve either, and knew that without power, any views that she tried to put forth was for naught. She was tired of it all, working so hard over the years just to reach this position, and to push harder would mean spending double the effort as her age was catching up.

Naru-chan was her hope, and she will treasure him, just as he treasured her.

_You must be tired. Don't give up. It can still happen. Let me do the work while you take all the glory. I promise, I won't ever let you down. It's the promise of a lifetime!_

Those words came from a five year old boy that had never met her before. She wasn't one to believe in coincidences. Sure those words could have worked for anything else, but she could feel it in her very soul, that those words were meant for her. She will raise him like her own, and she'll be damned if he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

And so it was settled. Uzumaki Naruto became one of the marines, just like that. For some reason, the Gorousei agreed to his stay, and Sengoku could find nothing to kick him out. Garp was fine with it, Tsuru insisted and the other vice-admirals couldn't be bothered, though Sakazuki seemed quite annoyed at this turn of events.

No one asked why this kid was there. Till this day, no one really knew why Uzumaki Naruto just so happened to appear in the pirate raid conducted by Monkey D. Garp. The Gorousei were never informed, nor were the Tenryuubito. Everyone simply treated this as another crazy thing the vice-admiral started, and no one bothered to pay it too much attention.

However, in the years to come, the world will undergo drastic changes, with people's lives changing without them even realizing it. Such is the power of a sennin, and for Uzumaki Naruto, he shall step on his final journey, aiming to achieve something no one in this world has ever thought would succeed – True Peace and Justice.

_**Right, let's stop there. This is just a prologue, so it's a bit short. This is like 22 years before Canon One Piece started, so there's some ground work to lay here. Anyway, things will change, lots of them. I love AUs, so yeah. **_

_**Chapter one should be officially out by tomorrow, so don't worry. If you like it, there's more, if not, meh. Anyways, I'm out. Hope you've enjoyed it. =D**_


	2. Siege of Ohara

_**A/N: It's good to see some people still remember me. Heh. And guys, don't worry about the other fics, they will be finished. It's just been a long time since I've written anything, so I'm trying to get back into the flow of things again. Anyway, enough talk, here comes Chapter 1. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or One Piece. **_

A Whole New World

Chapter 1: Siege of Ohara

It was fun being a five year old again. The pranks you get to do, the fun you get to have and the awesome motherly/grandmotherly figures that always seem to be around. He had Tsunade, she was alright, somewhat violent, drunk, gamble-prone but overall a nice person. Looking at the necklace that baa-chan gave him, he couldn't help but sigh as he thought of her death. Death by old age wasn't that pretty, but at least it was slightly better than getting killed off by some random ninja.

Unohana was nice. Very, very nice. Loving mother figure. Then he would get hurt and be sent to the medical bay. Now that was scary. Very, very scary. She sort of, like, morphed into some demonic deity that forced you to listen to her no matter what she said, even if it meant you getting cooped up in a room of white for weeks and weeks on end. She helped him a lot, taught him medical stuff and while he did help her too by stabilizing the damn Seireitei, he felt that he still owed her something. It was really sad to leave them, but he had stayed in that world long enough.

Now, he had Tsuru-baa-chan. She was so smart. The books she read and the theories she came up with in the books she wrote were just amazing. He would never have been able to think up something like that, granted, he wouldn't have bothered, but still, it was amazing. For others, it might have felt kinda weird to call someone 'baa-chan' when you're pretty damn old yourself mentally wise. Then again, he appeared in this world as a kid, so he had no qualms with giving affectionate nicknames to everyone all over again.

Uzumaki Naruto, in the battle against Pein way back in the years, opted to use to power of the Sennin (Sage), Natural Energy. By doing that, he has turned himself into a catalyst for Nature, using his own soul as a connection to Nature, allowing him to draw on, give back and even store up on Natural energy. He had won that battle but the price to pay was pretty heavy. Kyuubi in itself was a force against Nature, a pure evil presence that was born to wreak havoc all over the lands. Yet Naruto was its Jinchuuriki, and a Sennin at the same time. This provided a paradox, where you eventually had a human being filled with insane amounts of chakra, connected to Nature and had full understanding of 'good' and 'evil'. In a way, his soul became immortal, but his body would always die off.

It was then that he heard it, the Lifestream of the universe calling out to him. Everyone that died had their souls cleansed and replenished as they drifted along the Lifestream. The reason Sennin had longer lifespans than normal people was because they could use the Natural Energy from the Lifestream to 'cleanse' themselves of emotions. Twelve rules around emotions dictate the lives of the Sennin.

少思、欲、念、事、笑, 愁、言、楽、喜，怒、好、悪.

Less thoughts, desire, memories, events, laughter, sorrow, words, fun, happiness, anger, good and evil.

As such, normally, a Sage will always be away from mankind, devoid of any emotions, for with emotions, comes changes to the human body, reactions from the human body, and a deprivation of life each time he smiles, laughs, and cries. Jiraiya was never a full sage, he couldn't be. Neither could Naruto. So a dilemma was formed. His soul would live on for far longer, but his body would die off because for one, he can never stop laughing, crying, being sad/happy and all that stuff, it was impossible for this bright ball of sunshine.

And so when he eventually died, his soul was still there. Following the Lifestream, his soul was kept intact and he ended up in Seireitei, the place that governed the souls. So he had his adventure there too, but his soul too began to weaken. Normally he would have been happy, because that meant he would finally be released, but imagine his surprise when he woke up on this island with sea waves crashing onto the shore every now and then. There was like nothing around him. For days he had to walk on water just to try and find some sort of human life. It was pretty amusing since all those huge monsters avoided him like the plague.

Eventually he got himself to a village, and it just so happened to be raided by pirates. Marines just so happened to be there. He was bored, tired and fed up with walking on water. It was one thing to be able to do it, it was one thing 'liking' to do it. Walking on water was not that fun, he'd rather prefer a ship. So he got this crazy guy to take him along back to the headquarters, thinking, heck, the Marines must be the good guys, might as well stick with them.

So here he was, soaking up all the information Tsuru provided him with. Books, tons and tons of them, piling all over the place. Two lifetimes ago, you would never catch Uzumaki Naruto _studying_. Never.

But things change, and he got more mature, knowing that brute strength only worked so much (though he always mumbled that it could be because you're not using enough of it when Tsuru couldn't hear him), knowledge was a very important thing. It's not like he needed to be any stronger physically, please, he had had contact with chakra, reiatsu, natural energy, hollow energy and other energies from his multiple personalities. Yeah, the last bit was a bit freaky because he never knew that such things existed. He was on holiday from school (tch, stupid high school), and decided to change things up a bit, so he went to Port Island for like a year, but then all sorts of chaos happened, though getting to know Mitsuru and Yukari made it better. After that he went back to Karakura, and occasionally made trips to Seireitei to check up on the girls and Unohana, but then got bored and decided to go to a nice little town called Inaba. Very rural.

Then it was like Port Island all over again. He always knew those televisions were evil, since they were so god-damned expensive, but hell, this was on another level! But he got Rise's signature for Fuuka, and got himself a younger sister in cute, sweet Nanako, and not to mention the hotness that is Yukiko and, and the er, lively? Yea, let's make it lively, Chie! So that was fun and all, but he had to go back eventually.

It was while he was immersed in all these flashbacks that Garp kinda noticed him in the first place really. No five year old just started drooling like that imagining about sexy blonde women dressed in fashionable blue outfits. Not that Garp knew, Garp just saw this random kid with eyes filled with stars staring at him. Psh, as if this fat old man can even compare with Elizabeth and Margaret.

But anyway, getting sidetracked.

A year or so had already passed, so he was now a fit and healthy six year old. Sengoku had tried multiple times to get him kicked out, but eventually it was more of a routine than anything. He wouldn't admit it but Naruto was sure he saw a smile every time he watched the boy play with his goat. Oh alright, and the seagull on his hat, he liked the brat there for god knows what reason.

Kuzan thought the kid was alright. That might be because Naruto had told him once, "Hey, you're pretty cool! Both ways!" They're both pretty lazy and rarely get anything done unless supervised so they got along nicely. It helped that Kuzan was kind of in charge of training Naruto since Tsuru got Sengoku to order him to, but Naruto was just so easy to teach.

"This is called Soru _(Shave)_. You just stomp the ground lots and you move fast. You do it."

"Okay." Naruto does it.

"Sweet as, now let's move on."

It was pretty easy to teach the kid, and he had more time to tan himself. Win-win situation.

Borsalino's training with the kid was completely unintentional. Tsuru would never have gotten this man to train Naruto, simply because if Naruto learned his way of speaking so damn slowly, she would find it hard to fight the urge to strangle him.

You see, Borsalino was slightly different compared to Kuzan. He just didn't care about stuff enough. Might be because of his devil fruit – The _Pika Pika no mi_ (Light), making him so light-hearted when facing everything, but he did enjoy his solitude on a good walk when the dusk sets in. One day, he was enjoying himself, until he felt someone behind him. Not paying it much attention, he simply chose to 'flash' to another area. Naruto did that too.

Now this, Borsalino couldn't take lying down. He was on a walk. A very nice, relaxing cruise through the park. This brat had been trying to get him to race him again for the past week. He had sent the boy flying countless times, got berated by Tsuru for doing that (not that he cared) and the cycle repeated itself.

"So it seems you really want to race me hmmmmmm?" The vice-admiral raised his eyebrow as he drew out the last word in his sentence.

"No, not really."

"Ohhhh? Then why are you following me, hmm?"

"I just want to know why you can do that flashing thing. I thought only I could do it." Naruto replied cheerfully.

He thought only he could…

Wait, what? Wasn't that supposed to be his sentence? Borsalino leaned in to take a closer look at the gleeful child, "Would you mind elaborating?"

"Yea, I mean, Hiraishin is a space-time technique, but you look like you actually became the light! That's so cool!"

Slightly amused at his proclamation of his ability as 'cool', he replied, "I thought Tsuru-san would have taught you this by now. I'm a _Pika Pika_ human. I am light."

"Oh! The devil fruit thing."

"Yesss, the devil fruit thing."

"Okay, I want to race you."

"Hmm? What for?"

"It's cool!"

"I thought you said that about Kuzan?"

"Yeah, well, he's both."

"Both?"

"Literally and figuratively."

"And I am?"

"You're just metaphorically."

"I seeee."

"Come on, race me! You know you want to!" That wide grin on Naruto's face threatened to split his face if it got any larger.

Borsalino leaned back, squinting his eyes as he tried to decide, "But I'm on such a nice walk."

"Awww, alright then. Then how about I, I, I walk with you! We can be like the Flash buddies!"

_The… the flash buddies… Wow Naruto-sama, you're so cool after two lifetimes. _

_Hey, I'm a six year old, now shut up Izanagi, I'm having fun._

"I think not my boy. Perhaps when you grow up." For some reason, Borsalino seemed to be in a good mood today. This kid was pretty funny. Maybe he should keep him around more. Yes, this way Tsuru-san might not bother him as much. Besides, it has been a long time since he met someone who could move as fast as he could.

Maybe, just maybe, this kid could match him when he grew up. But it wouldn't be fun if he only had speed. Hm, maybe he should go talk to Kuzan about sharing his training schedule…

And behind that enthusiasm, Naruto evilly grinned within, "Keikaku dori, kukuku…" (計画どり, just as planned)

_I agree with him there. You are so cool after two lifetimes._

_Izanami, did I say it was okay for you to talk hm? You want me to kick your ass all over again, huh?_

So the two began their walks from then on, which was surprisingly frequent. At times, it was almost daily, something Borsalino and Naruto both looked forward to. It was extremely fun and amusing for both sides to have a conversation, because their personalities are so similar. Though Kizaru did point out on several occasions that Naruto was a bit too energetic, but eventually, he got used to it.

X – X

Since then, another year had passed. Naruto was now at the healthy age of seven. The reason he put emphasis on healthy was because he had yet to engage himself in a self-destructing act that would leave him half-paralyzed with broken bones all over his body. That's an improvement from the last two lifetimes.

It was a calm and peaceful day, for the seven year old at least, he had woken up, greeted Tsuru-baa-chan affectionately (with the usual hug plus kiss on cheek) before venturing towards the laboratory to screw around with the famed Dr. Vegapunk. Naruto wasn't fond of mad scientists and when Tsuru first introduced Vegapunk to him, he had him pegged as one of those evil masterminds that had the ambition of destroying everything and stuff like that. Till this day, the genius scientist had no idea why Naruto wouldn't trust him. He had reviewed his actions with the kid and seriously contemplated if he put out a hostile aura, but to no avail. He couldn't think of anything he did that might have got the kid suspicious of him.

Was it the time he begged the kid to let him investigate that energy he could wield?

Was it the other time where he tried to get him to eat a devil fruit? It was a logia one too.

Was it when he threatened to eat his cookies unless he confessed about his incredible body structure?

Surely not. Everything he wanted to know from the kid was so that he could better help the boy! It had been years since someone had so willingly come along to chat with him! Well, that might be because he insisted he wanted peace and quiet as he went about his experiments, but couldn't those morons look under the underneath and see that he was bored from all these investigations every now and then? Popping in for an entire afternoon for a cup of tea would be much more appreciated than popping in for five minutes asking about his latest weapon's progress.

The boy might not trust him a lot, but he did come over and chat very often. At first, it was simply because he had a query about devil fruits and came to ask him, and then that evolved into a conversation, and before they knew it, they were having a very pleasant and enjoyable chat! There! It wasn't that hard, was it? You stupid marine bastards.

The fact that said marine bastards had tried to talk to him before but got blasted out of the lab a few years ago seemed to have slipped his mind.

Naruto just had this uncanny ability to get everyone to like him. He was cute, friendly and always full of energy, hopping everywhere, chatting up anyone in his way. His boisterous voice could be heard all over the place every single day, greeting and saying goodbye, just like the good little boy he was.

Of course, only Kuzan and Borsalino knew how 'good' the boy was. Take a good look at his training grounds and you'll see the answer. Tsuru had an idea, but then again, Naru-chan was her beloved grandson and anyone that dared say anything about the boy was swiftly removed. The power of politics indeed.

As usual, the scientist and the kid sat down and began talking about discoveries in their studies. Yes, their. Naruto too began a project of his own, investigating the properties of devil fruit and just why they were able to take away the user's ability to swim. How did the fruits change the body's structure to give them the designated power, and how did they really work? How could they have picked out which genes in the body needed to change and which had to be erased?

Vegapunk was genuinely pleased when he saw Naruto undertaking such a task by himself. Many scholars have tried to understand the workings of Devil Fruit but none of them succeeded and despite the fact that he himself was way ahead of the current technology available, he still needed time before he could crack this one open. This kid seemed to learn better through practical means instead of books, by talking, Naruto seemed to pick up on far more than reading a book ten times.

His uncanny ability and thirst for knowledge made him quite the teachable target. If anything, it made one want to dump everything he knew onto the kid, wanting him to absorb all of it and use it for himself. The scientist had been skeptical as to why the great tactician would take such a boy with no history whatsoever under her wing, but once he knew, he couldn't help but feel the same way.

It was around lunch, when the discussion between Naruto and Vegapunk came to a close, when a giant came knocking on their door.

"Er, sorry to intrude, but is Naruto-chan in?"

Hopping up immediately, Naruto ran to the door and leapt into the air, giving the visitor a big hug, "Hey ya Saul! dereshishishi!"

"Ah! Naruto-chan, dereshishishishi!" The sight of the duo both laughing in the same manner brought a smile to the scientist's face.

"Well it is about lunch time. I guess I'll see you tomorrow Naruto."

"Oh! Okay. Bye bye!"

Vice-admiral Jaguar D. Saul, a friend of Kuzan's, a very shy and timid being for a giant, but extremely friendly and lovable at the same time. He has the kindest heart Naruto had ever seen, and is the number one person he would go to look to hang out with, after Tsuru-obaa-chan of course. It wasn't that Saul taught him anything or that he could help him with his abilities but more of the fact that with Saul, it was just two friends having fun together. Naruto could really find his childhood memories the way he hung out with Saul, the pranks they pulled together and how they would always get caught because Saul was so big, or the way they would go out to sea together and fish, and all those other stuff.

People like Kuzan and Borsalino were a bit too stiff and mature to understand what it meant to have fun, though he was slowly converting Borsalino. In a place like the World Government, one would have to be hard pressed to find someone who truly knew what it meant to let loose. For the younger marines, that meant booze and the ladies. For the older, it meant tea and maybe the ladies. No one was really young enough to understand the type of entertainment Naruto enjoyed, but Saul did. And Saul loved being with Naruto too. Those two became best buds two days after meeting. Tsuru had once commented that they were both children so it was only natural that they got together, and that got her a combined laughter of 'dereshishishishi', though Tsuru suspected that Naruto only did that to annoy her, since he knew she couldn't stand that laughter.

"So Saul! What do you want to do today?" Hopping onto the giant's head, he stayed there for a bit before bending down and meeting Saul's eyes, "You don't seem too happy."

Saul let out a great sigh, before shaking his head, "You're right, I'm not. I don't know what to say Naruto-chan. I'm beginning to doubt the World Government."

Eyes widening slightly, Naruto started for a bit, before answering, "What happened? Did you kill someone by mistake? Did that stupid Buddha order you to destroy some random village?"

Despite being at the age of seven, Naruto's intelligence was notoriously renowned amongst the vice-admirals, since there was yet for someone to beat him in an argument, no matter what the argument was. The way he constructed his argument, backed it up with pure logic was infinitely scary to most of the brutes who could only talk using force. Naruto had tons of force in him, so winning was only a matter of time. He understood Saul, that he had a caring heart within him, and the 'Absolute Justice' that Tsuru-obaa-chan had told him of before definitely would not fit in with this giant.

"I would like for you to meet a person, Naruto-chan."

X – X

In the prison cell sat a beautiful woman, with white hair cascading down her shoulders and blue eyes that shined as bright as the sky. However, her entire attire looked worn down, slight bruises were present on her face and the glow that should have been in those sapphire orbs was nowhere to be seen. Held down by iron chains, she seemed ever so helpless, with tears glistening around the corners of hers.

"Naruto-chan, this is Nico Olivia, the woman I've been talking to you about." A familiar voice rang throughout the room as heavy tremors were felt from the ground.

"Oh, wow, she's so pretty."

Hearing that, Olivia gritted her teeth as she raised her head, "If you've come back to mock me again – "

"Shh, don't be angry, it's alright."

Before she knew it, he was hugging her, her head resting on his tiny shoulder. Shocked beyond belief, she turned her head sideways to try and catch a glimpse of her 'attacker', but only see a messy, spiky mound of blond.

"I've brought you a friend."

Shaking the shock away temporarily, she turned her eyes back to the front, "Jaguar D. Saul…"

"Now let's get you out of this." With two quick movements her chains were ripped off the wall.

The past few minutes were a complete blur to Olivia, who could only stare at the person grinning before her in disbelief. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, seven year old! And in the words of Saul, dereshishishishi!"

"What is the meaning of this? Is this some kind of trick by the World Government? It's not enough that they slaughter my friends and colleagues but that they send in a mere kid to ridicule me?" Hot tears of anger welled up in her eyes as she took a step back from the blond, "Haven't I suffered enough? Who cares about the weapon? You! You barbaric marines! All I wanted to do was to find true history! All I wanted to do was to know! Is having knowledge such a bad thing?"

"All my life, I've given it my all, wanting to learn the truth behind the Void Century. Against the protests of my friends, I set out sail in search of the Rio Poneglyphs. I took up the role of a selfish mother, leaving Robin all by herself on Ohara, not wanting her to be a part of this because I knew the consequences! I knew you big-headed bigots with your absolute justice would never let it go! But I had to! I had to know the truth! I… I…"

"I just want to see my daughter…" She couldn't take it anymore; her legs gave way as she fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She had known all of this would take place but even then, she found it unfair. Why must there be so many enemies standing in the way of her dream?

Saul made a comforting gesture before he was stopped by Naruto, "Could you leave us here for a few minutes?"

The giant opened his mouth, before closing it silently. After a brisk nod, he trudged back out, only to stop when Naruto's voice sounded, "Will you be staying as a Marine after this?"

The giant bowed his head for a full minute, his mind working furiously as Olivia's sobs reverberated in the room, "No. As long as I have doubts within my heart, I cannot stay as a marine. I joined because I believe in Justice, but not like this… not like this…"

"Kuzan and the others will come after you. You know that." Naruto's voice was deathly quiet, wanting Saul to understand the severity of the matter.

"I have no choice. I will not commit myself to doing something so extreme. This is not the justice I believed in, and I will not be a part of it!" With eyes filled with determination, Saul walked out of the room.

Sighing as he shook his head, Naruto wondered what would happen if Saul were to defect. It would depend on who Sengoku gave the order to. Someone like Kuzan might eventually let him go but that chance was slim. Someone like Sakazuki would instantly kill Saul. Not to mention there's the trouble with Ohara. From what he's seen in the books, the only reason Sengoku and the Gorousei were so riled up was because of the ancient weapons. Ability to understand history would to a certain extent, equal the possibility of them understanding how to make the weapon, and because of that, under the laws of absolute justice, no mercy would be shown.

For perhaps the first time, Naruto was thrust face-first into a situation that Tsuru-obaa-chan had been telling him for the past two years.

_See for yourself, the true horrors of the Absolute justice. And when you do, dig a little deeper, because it is never only what you see. _

From the looks of things, Saul was definitely defecting, and perhaps Olivia would be released so that she could go back to Ohara. Yet Naruto knew, that the moment Olivia stepped back onto Ohara, there would be no escape. Sengoku was not one to leave stones unturned. If there was one scholar that could interpret the Rio Poneglyphs, then there definitely will be a bunch of them that could do that as well.

The irony of it was that despite the seemingly important presence of Olivia, the fate of Ohara will not be changed. Reaching into his inner soul, he drew forth the Natural energy present in the surroundings.

Olivia was still sobbing when all of a sudden, everything felt strangely detached. Staring at the kid in front of her, she couldn't help but gasp as those cerulean orbs transformed into toad-like eyes. His entire being seemed to pulse with energy, and wave after wave of it kept sweeping outwards in a spiral manner.

"_Saul, you are commanded to become one of the five vice-admirals to man these ten offensive warships in the Buster Call."_

"_This is going too far Sengoku! They are just scholars! Of all the people we have captured, all I see from their eyes are simply a want to know the true history! If their research really is that dangerous, then can't the government simply help them with it? At this rate, we will be the ones taking away the precious lives of innocent people! You need to give me some sort of proof to show that these people are criminals!"_

"_Are you trying to doubt the actions of the government? Just shut up and obey." _

"…"

Relinquishing his hold on the energy, Naruto sighed as his toad eyes faded, "As I thought, that Sengoku is just far too stubborn." Turning back to Olivia, he knelt down beside her and hugged her, "I need you to listen to my every word. What I'm about to tell you now will determine whether or not you can survive."

The white-haired woman shivered at his soft tone, her eyes gradually widening as the entire plan unfolded by her ears.

"Do you understand?"

"Who, who are you?" Staring up at the child in front of her, she couldn't help but feel so helpless.

"I'm a sage. I'm sure you've read about us in your books." Smiling, he shook his head, "No, you probably wouldn't. That's not your forte."

"Sage…? Wait!"

"There is no time. You have to do as I say. You are not permitted to die Nico Olivia, because you have a daughter. I cannot guarantee that you can safely rescue her and escape at the same time, but know this, both of you _will_ escape from Ohara. I swear on my life." The strong force that she felt from before came roaring back, threatening to overwhelm her, but for some reason, there was this soothing, affectionate feel to it.

"Absolute justice may take the Queen this time, but I will not lose the King to it as well!"

X – X

"This is an emergency! Vice-admiral Saul has taken the criminal with him and fled!" Alarms were blaring at full blasts, soldiers were moving frantically, getting ready for the pursuit that would soon ensue.

"He knows everything about our next operation. Go after them. Catch Saul and Nico Olivia at all costs! I don't care if you open fire!" These were the exact words of the supreme commander.

No one knew what had gotten into the loyal, kind Vice-admiral. Why would he betray the Marines?

"I'll take care of the pursuers, hurry up and go!" Saul yelled as he prepared himself for the onslaught that was sure to come.

"Saul, you do realize that you can never go back to the marines now." Olivia stared at him with a gaze that hinted of pity and remorse.

"It doesn't matter. As long as I have this doubtful feeling in my chest, I cannot go back. Besides, Naruto-chan was the only one who truly understood me anyway. They may be protectors of the law, but this mission is too harsh. I'm only doing this to abide by my own justice. Hurry! If you don't the other vice-admirals will get you! You still need to go see your daughter, don't you?"

"I won't thank you for this!"

"Dereshishishi! I pray for your good fortune. Best of luck!"

As the two ships sailed off, it signaled the start of the Siege of Ohara. Years later, it would still be remembered as one of the cruelest acts carried out by the so-called Absolute Justice weapon, Buster Call.

Amidst all the chaos, Naruto quietly appeared in Vegapunk's Laboratory, "I need a favor…"

X – X

_**Blast!**_

"Argh!"

"Saul!" Young Robin cried as a cannon ball struck the vice-admiral right in the face.

A yell of "I'm sorry!" was heard before it was shut down by a heavy berating.

"Don't apologize! He has associated himself with the demons! He is a traitor! We have orders to take him down and we will do it!" Yelled the marine officer.

"I'm okay. Sorry about that Robin, that must have scared you. _Cough Cough._" Pushing aside the smoke, Saul gently placed Robin on the ground beside him, "Here, it won't take a second."

"Saul…?"

"Firing from the shore with such dangerous weapons! What would they have done if those hurt Robin? HARRRGH!" With immense strength, amongst the scared screams of the marine soldiers, Saul easily lifted up the warship and sent it crashing onto the shore, effectively neutralizing it.

"Saul! It's enough, stop it!" Cried Robin.

"Hurry up and escape Robin! Do not forget your mother's wish!" Saul yelled as the marines started firing gunshots at him.

'_History is the people's greatest treasure. It'll certainly eliminate the future you're about to live. However, you have to teach the next generation the history you have inherited from the past, otherwise it would have disappeared. Ohara didn't want to reveal the history, we only wanted to hear the voices from the past and protect them! Our research ends here. But even if the entire Ohara is crushed, we cannot and will not give up on the future you will be living in!'_

'_But, but I don't get it! I only want my mother to be with me!'_

'… _You will understand it someday, my child. Now, Saul, go!'_

'_You sure this alright?'_

'_Yeah.'_

'_No! I want to stay here too! Mom! Mom!' _

'… _I'm so glad to hear you call me that… Thank you… *sniff* From now on, you have to take my share…'_

'_**AND LIVE! ROBIN!'**_

"Destroy the evacuation ship! That girl is an archaeologist! She is dangerous!"

"God damn it, the CP9 and their big mouths! I'll show you!"

"Saul! Be careful!"

"_Ice Block: Partisan!_" A deep voice rang out in the region as an ice spear flew at the rampaging Giant.

"Urgh! Guaargh!"

"Saul!"

"Ararara, this won't do at all. If the Buster Call was somehow stopped by a former Marine, wouldn't we look quite ridiculous?" Vice-admiral Kuzan spoke quietly, his eyes hidden behind those black glasses.

"Ku-Kuzan…" Slowly getting to his feet, the giant took in a deep breath as he tried to get a hold of his bearings, "Do you take pride in this bombardment? Get back to your senses! This is nothing but a farce! You should have realized it by now! All of this nothing but an example! Just for something so stupid, they are going to take down Ohara! They are going to sacrifice it!"

"If that is for the future of the world, then it can't be helped. Besides, the scholars have indeed broken the law. This thing, Justice, it changes depending on where you stand. That is why I will not blame your justice." His eyebrows slowly tensing into a frown, he continued, "But if you're going to stand in our way, I cannot just ignore it."

_**KABOOM!**_

As they spoke, cannon fire from Sakazuki's ship has destroyed the evacuation ship.

Losing the feeling in her legs, Robin fell to the ground, shocked by what just happened. There were no other words to describe it. While she didn't necessarily like those people, they were innocent! How could they just…

"THIS IS THE JUSTICE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT? CAN YOU STILL BE FILLED WITH THAT DAMN PRIDE AFTER DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS?" Completely blinded by anger, Saul lashed out with his huge fist, attempting to strike down Kuzan.

"I didn't intend to overdo things like that idiot!" Easily evading the strike, Kuzan himself had to hold in his anger. This was not what he intended to do at all!

"Run! Robin! He's simply too strong for either of us!"

"_Ice Time: Capsule!_"

"Uarggh!" Icicles appeared from the ground and caught one of Saul's legs as he tried to escape.

"Saul! Are you alright?" Robin helplessly asked as she looked up at the battered and worn down giant.

"Robin, you have to run away. Run as fast as you can! If you stay on this island, your life will be forfeited! Set out on the sea with my raft."

"But, but what about you Saul?"

"Hah… hah… this is the end for me. I've been caught. Now go!"

"I… I don't want to! There's nobody for me at sea! I'll be all alone again!" Tears were starting to fall from those lovely eyes.

"Hah, you listen well Robin! You might be alone for now, but someday, you will definitely find your nakama _(_仲間,_ comrades, friends etc.)_"

"Nakama?"

"That's right! The sea is vast! Someday without a doubt, there will definitely be nakama who will be willing to protect you! Do not forget that story I told you, that little boy! No one is born into this world to be alone! Believe in yourself and believe in others!"

"Saul…"

"Hurry! Run! When things get rough, just do like I told you, laugh like this!"

"Saul! Look out!"

"_Ice Time…_"

"**Dereshishishishishishishi!**"

"Saul!"

X – X

"Is this the end chosen by mankind?" Clover sighed as tears silently fell from his cheek.

The Scholars had already deposited all the books in the library underwater, wanting for the knowledge to be passed on to the future, but it seemed that all was for naught. The Tree of Knowledge was burning and could collapse any second.

Olivia clenched her fists in sorrow as she stared at the raging flames, _I'm so sorry… Robin…_

"_Fuinjutsu: Dai Enjin!_ _(Sealing technique: Great Fire Forcefield)_"

Eyes widening, Olivia's head quickly rose to search for the origin of that voice.

"Look, the flames!" One of the scholars pointed as the red fire soared high into the sky, before slowly revolving around the Tree of Knowledge.

"What's going on?"

"How is this happening?"

But Olivia knew, she had felt this force before. This was the exact same feeling she had back in the prison.

"Sigh, I made a promise. Why are you making me break the promise?" Amidst the shadows of the library, a flash of light filled the room for an instant before it died down. "Nico Olivia, do you really want to die that much?"

"Uzumaki…" What was supposed to come out as a shout came out but a whisper.

"It's a hideous plan I know, but that's the only way they are going to live. You know that. Look around you. Do you really intend to let all that knowledge of the past be forgotten, just like this?" Naruto shook his head as he looked around, "_Kage Bunshin no jutsu! (Shadow clone technique)_"

In an instant, multiple copies of himself appeared, and in each of their hands rested a pill.

"I can't do it! That would be worse than killing them all off!" Olivia gritted her teeth, "Once a scholar of Ohara, always a scholar of Ohara!"

Naruto stayed silent for a bit, before nodding, "I see. But I still can't let you die. I will not let a mother die if I can help it. I made that promise to someone a long time ago."

"What is he talking about?"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Olivia, what is this – "

In one swift motion, all of the scholars were knocked unconscious, with Clover and Olivia left standing only.

The old man was strangely calm at this, surprising both Naruto and Olivia. He didn't seem panicked or anything, focusing his stare on Naruto's Toad eyes.

"You are a sennin, aren't you?"

"Ho… you actually know of us?"

"I have read every single book in this library countless times, there are very little things in this world that I do not know." Clover stared at him with a solemn expression on his face, "Since you've come here, it means that you are willing to interfere with this affair."

Naruto smiled at him, before nodding, "Yes."

"Are you prepared for the consequences it will bring to this world?" The gaze was unwavering, unrelenting, and insistent.

"Yes. The question should be, whether the world will be ready for me?" The confident grin never left his face.

"I see. Very well then. That pill in your hand, I assume it is a memory-loss medicine of some sort. I'm sorry but I have to reject it. Like Olivia told you, once a scholar of Ohara, forever a scholar of Ohara. I'd rather die than forget about my life's work." Clover coughed as he tried to breathe through the smoke, "But if you're here for Olivia, please, take her somewhere safe!"

"Professor Clover!"

"Please! Robin needs her! That poor child has suffered so much all these years! Olivia, for the sake of your daughter, you must live on!"

"I… But… I…"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she stays alive."

"What? I didn't agree to –"

"Is that so… thank you… very much."

"Professor!"

"Now go! There isn't time, this tree should have fallen a long time ago! Go!"

"No! Professor! I will stay and di –" Before she could finish her sentence, she was knocked unconscious by Naruto.

Taking one last look at the old man, the seven year old easily hoisted the woman onto his shoulder, before saying his last sentence, "Ohara will never die. I'll make sure of it."

In a flash, they were gone, and the flames returned to normal.

Slowly, bit by bit, the Tree of Knowledge began tilting. The damage done to it was too great, and now, it was going to fall.

"Heh heh, Ohara will never die eh…? Thank you… Sennin-sama…"

**CRASH!**

X – X

"Hah, hah, hah, ah!" A tired Robin came to a sudden halt as she saw the tall man that froze off Saul a few minutes ago sitting there beside a boat.

"Absolute justice," Kuzan began with a monotonous voice, "has been known to drive man into madness. This is why I've decided to let you off this island. A seed that Saul chose to protect… I want to see how it grows."

Standing up from the rock he was sitting on, Kuzan continued, "It is your choice who you want to hate but for now, consider yourself lucky that you're still alive. Try to live as quietly as you can." Pointing towards the ice route he made, he went on, "I've left a line of ice on the sea here, travel in this boat and go straight on, you'll reach land eventually."

Turning around, he took off his glasses and stared right at Robin, "But always remember, that I am not your ally. If you were to commit any crime, or make any unwanted noise, I will be the first to hunt you down."

Robin shivered slightly at his tone of voice but bit down her fear, "But my mom! She's still on this island, if you could…"

"No one can be saved from this island. That is the cruel reality. If you find it too painful to live, then by all means, die. But remember this, all those people died so that you can live. Saul was a good friend of mine, but I had to take him out. Such is the meaning of Absolute Justice. You'd do well to remember that." With those as his parting words, Kuzan slowly disappeared back into the sea of flames that used to be the island of Ohara.

Robin could only stare at his back as memories flashed past her eyes.

_This is the world's greatest library! Do you like books?_

_Today is Robin's birthday! Let's all wish her a very happy birthday! Congratulations Robin!_

_Be proud, Robin! Ohara is a great country!_

_We cannot give up on the future… that you will be living on in. _

_Just laugh. When you're having a hard time, simply laugh like I taught you. _

"But if I laugh… I'll… *sniff*… just… *sniff*… look like an idiot… Saul…"

_That's not true! Dereshishishishishi! Dereshishishishi!_

Climbing aboard the boat, and desperately holding back on her tears, she hugged her knees close to herself and tried.

"Dereshishishishi, dereshishishishishi, dereshishishishi, *cough*, dereshishishishishi, dereshishishishi."

The more she laughed, the more her tears flowed, and finally, the images all started building up and she couldn't take it any longer, "AHHHHHH! WAAAAAHHH!" Cries of pain and sorrow burst from her throat as all the tragedies hit her at full blast. Her only friends were dead, the giant friend that she made a few days ago died trying to save her, and her mother…

"MOM!"

_Robin…_

"Sob, Mom! *Sob* Mom, don't leave me!" Agony and misery threatened to suffocate her, the anguish at losing all of her precious people just like that. Her life was never good but there were still some bright bits to it, there were still times of laughter and happiness, and yet all of this was now destroyed, all gone up in flames.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

"That's right, let it all out."

"Huh?" Spinning around, she came face to face with a blond-haired kid, smiling sadly at her.

"It's okay." Placing a hand on her head, he gently ruffled her hair.

"What are, who are you?" Her trembling figure seemed so small as he gathered her into his arms.

"Don't be afraid. All is not lost."

"Eh?"

"You have to be strong. Remember what your mother told you?"

_From now on, you have to take my share… and live, Robin!_

"Mom… *sniff*"

"Don't be sad. She is safe for now."

"Huh? What did you – "

"That's right, so remember, when times are tough, don't forget to laugh. Okay?" His smile seemed ever so gentle. Her panicked mentality along with her shivering body slowly calmed down.

"Is she alive?"

"That… is hard to say. Nico Olivia no longer exists on this world. For now."

"What, but you said – "

"Do you trust me?" Those cerulean orbs stared right into teal eyes, "Do you?"

"I… I…"

_No one is born on this world to be completely alone! Believe in yourself Robin! And believe in others!_

Taking in a shuddering breath, the eight year old replied quietly, "I do."

"I see." Smiling, the blond gently patted her head, "Then I will give you a present. Your mother cares a lot about you, but her greatest regret was not being able to be there with you, and see you smile through every single day of your life. She really loves you."

"… Mom…" The tears were building but she managed to hold them in.

"That's a good girl. You have to be strong." Standing up, Naruto nodded, "The sea out there is very dangerous, and at times, tricky. Believe in what you will, but I have faith in you. You will find the right direction. As such, I bestow upon you, _Ishtar,_ the goddess of Love and War. At times of mortal peril, she will definitely be an asset to you."

"Huh?"

A heavenly figure clad in silks of white descended from the sky. Her porcelain skin and elegant face was accentuated by the horns sticking out on the sides of her head. Holding out her slender hand, she smiled lovingly and said, "Do you accept me?"

"…" Staring in awe at the beautiful angel before her, Robin slowly nodded, "Yes…"

"Very well, then may the bonds of our fate be entwined, until the threads of our destiny decline." In a flash, she burst into speckles of light, slowly enveloping young Robin into a cocoon, before disappearing completely.

"What, what, where did, where did she go?" The young girl from Ohara frantically looked around, not wanting to lose the pretty lady after just meeting her.

_Haha, silly girl, I'm right here!_

"What? How…"

_When you feel lonely or sad, just remember that I'll be here to help you. You are never alone._

"So, how'd you like the gift?"

Robin turned back to the boy, and gave him a beaming smile, "Thank you so much!"

"Thank your mother; it was her love for you that gave you this present. Never forget it."

"Thank you mom… thank you so much…" Hugging her arms around her body, as though she was hugging her mother, for the first time that night she felt happy. Tears of joy replaced the sorrow and melancholy from before, because now, she had someone, even though that someone isn't physical, she wasn't alone anymore!

_One day, people who are willing to protect you will appear! They are your nakama!_

"Nakama…"

"Hm?" Naruto tilted his head as Robin muttered the word.

"Will you be my nakama?" Her eyes lit up as she timidly asked.

"Ha… hahaha… hahahaha! Oh Saul, looks like you were right after all, this girl is a gem!"

"Saul? You've met Saul? How come I didn't see you?" The young girl asked, confused.

Naruto chuckled as he pointed as his ears, "I can hear him in the lifestream, that dereshishishi guy."

"Lifestream?"

"Don't worry about it. But as to your question, yes. Robin, I will be your nakama, but not now. Aw, don't give me that look, now, look at me."

Seeing how her face fell the moment he told her that, Naruto sighed, "I'm still a kid, you're still a kid, we both need time to grow up. Only then, can we be true nakama, because right now, I'm not strong enough Robin."

"Strong enough?"

"Yes, I do not yet have the power to protect those I deem precious. I need to get stronger so that I can make sure no more Buster calls will be used. I will defeat Absolute Justice! No matter what!" His eyes shone with determination as he held onto her hand, "So until then, wait for me. One day, there will be other nakama out there who are willing to help you, and you never know when I might just pop in and join you guys."

"But remember, even though we won't be around you for the next few years, we will always be in your heart. Besides, Ishtar will keep you occupied, that woman's a handful."

_I can hear you, you know._

"It's time for me to go, Robin. Goodbye."

"Wait, no! Please don't go! I don't even know your name yet!"

"Hush hush, it's okay. The name is Uzumaki Naruto, and remember, when times get rough, just laugh it off, Dereshishishishi!"

With a gust of wind, he was gone. The night stayed silent as before, as though there never was an unexpected visitor.

Robin stared into the distance for a while, before grasping the paddles and started rowing, "Dereshishishishi, dereshishishishi, dereshishishishi, dereshishishishi, dereshishishishi…"

_Mom… Wherever you are… I'll come find you… but not now… my nakama just told me that I need to get stronger to protect my precious people. I will do just that mom, so don't worry about me. I will carry on the legacy you left me, mother, I will not let Ohara be forgotten!_

X – X

The next morning, a white-haired woman woke up slowly. Her head still felt fuzzy and her arms were heavy as lead. The events from last night were still fresh in her mind, but the surroundings she was in now held such a deep contrast to the horrors from before. Staring outside the windows, white clouds filled the sky as the wind gently blew. Windmills were clearly visible and kids were heard happily running around in the village.

At that moment, the Head of the Village entered, "How are you feeling? We found you unconscious on the shore last night." Seeing that she was in a daze, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Staring into the mirror on the wall, she chuckled bitterly, before nodding, "Yes… yes I'm alright. Can you tell me where I am?"

"Yes, yes, this Fuusha _(_風車_Windmill) _village of the East Blue."

Gradually getting off the bed, she looked at the scroll sitting by the side of the table and looked at the elder questioningly, "You were holding onto this extremely tightly when we found you, do you not remember?"

_I will not let a mother die before her daughter if I can help it. I made a promise!_

"Uzumaki…" Taking in a deep breath, she opened the scroll. She knew from that moment, that she could never return to the past, and ahead of her lay a whole new path, one that she never would have dreamed of.

_Thank you… *sniff* Thank you so much, Uzumaki Naruto…_

X – X

"What, this is preposterous! Are you insinuating that I stole the information about the ancient weapons?" Spandine, commander of the CP9 yelled in rage.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but orders are orders. Let's go."

"This must be some kind of mistake! Ohara went down in flames! How could these pieces of paper point to me as a culprit?"

"I have my orders, sir. The rest can be decided by the Supreme Court of Justice."

"Wait! Wait! This can't be right! I'm innocent! I'm not even a scholar! Hey!"

_A few days after the incident of Ohara, Commander of Cipher Pol. 9 was arrested under the charges of withholding important information from the World Government and was sentenced to lifelong prison. The division of Cipher Pol. 9 was sealed off, and all members were divided and dispersed to other divisions. _

X – X

_**And let's end it there. It's been awhile since I wrote something so long, so wow, I didn't think I could make it. But I did promise you guys a chapter, so here you go. Hopefully it was as emotional and dramatic as the anime/manga made it. You guys can obviously spot the differences I added in. Do review and tell me your thoughts about it. Will update in a couple of days. Cheers. **_


	3. Friends and Allies

_**A/N: Well I'm back again. I'm trying to get the chapters out while I still have ideas in my head, since exams are getting close again. A thing to note here is that because the current timeline is like around 20 years ago, certain events that happened in Canon will be moved around by me. It's just that most of the stuff happened around the 20 year margin, and I really wanted Naruto to grow a bit older before some of them happen so that he can get himself involved and stuff. So if you guys notice something off with the timeline, bear with it. It's an AU anyway, so it doesn't matter as much.**_

_**Those of you who spotted Persona 4, good on you. Shame that you didn't spot Persona 3 though. Heh. That was just me being random, but oh what the heck, it's fun. So far, most of you liked what I'm doing, so I'll keep at it, and hopefully provide more entertainment, now, enjoy chapter 2. =D**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or One Piece. And for whatever tiny bits of Persona there are, those belong to Atlus. **_

A Whole New World

Chapter 2: Friends and Allies

"Naru-chan, what am I going to do with you?" Tsuru sighed for the umpteenth time that day ever since news of the Mariejois attack by Fisher Tiger was released.

"Erm, hug me and tell me I'm awesome?" Naruto grinned cheekily, ignoring the whack on the back of his head he got with his reply.

"I'm disappointed in you, dear. After all I've taught you? All those theories, strategies, planning, none of them helped? You _had_ to do this?" Her frown was more pronounced than ever as she slapped her hand on the poster before her.

"It was fun! Come on, Tsuru-baa. Surely you get the joke!"

"I don't think there's anyone who doesn't get the joke when you've written it out so obviously on the back of this cape."

The poster held a bounty for a man dressed in what appeared to be a Superman cape, only instead of the cape being red, it said, "I am Akainu! I suck balls!" The mask resembled that of fiery flames, with the words "FIRE ME!" stuck to his scalp. The front of the shirt had a very clear photo of Sakazuki plus a big fat cross on it.

Yes, everyone should get the joke. The funny thing was, judging from the photo, it did look like Sakazuki to a certain extent. But of course, given the outfit, no one would point the arrow at the Admiral, but it still became a hot topic for discussion (a.k.a mocking) amongst the Marines, especially the higher-ups. Borsalino, in particular, got a huge crack out of it, stating outright that he shall help Sakazuki find the guy just because he is such an interesting fella.

Naturally, the famed Admiral 'Akainu' did not take this well and was seen to be in an angry mood for the past week. It was concluded that this was the workings of a pirate as he could think of no one else that would hold such a grudge against him.

Kuzan merely smirked when he saw the poster, pointing out how it was incredible that the outfit could be so fitting for a hero and a dumbass at the same time. He pretended not to understand why Naruto kept aiming at his lower regions during training later that day.

"Naru-chan, the outfit – "

"It's awesome right!"

"The words – "

"Oh yeah, I cracked up so hard when I wrote them."

"Sigh…"

"Come onnnn, Tsuru-baa! You know you liked it." That delightful smirk of his just wouldn't go away, no matter how Tsuru tried to glare at him, she too had an amused smile on her face.

"Was this what you meant by 'present'?"

"Yea well, I tried to make it special. It was your *beep* birthday after all."

"You would do well not to spread that number."

"Aye, aye, Madam!"

"Sigh, but even then Naru-chan, you got lucky. If anyone were to realize this was you, the Tenryuubito would have got the World Government to search you out and kill you. Can't you just be a good boy and stay put for one day? Ever since the Ohara incident, you've been in constant motion." Rubbing her temple gently to ease the headache, she shook her head, "Naruto, what is it that you are planning to do?"

The blond, now at the age of ten, merely smiled, "I don't like the Tenryubito."

"That's not answering my question, Naru-chan."

"Yes it is and you know it."

"They are Nobles! The descendants of the Twenty Kings that made the World Government today! You can't just decide not to like them and start off sabotaging them!"

"It's reckless I know, but it's me we're talking about Tsuru-baa. I'll be fine." Walking behind her desk, he gave her a firm hug, "I'll always be your little Naruto, but you and I both know that this world needs change and what better than to start wreaking havoc where it needs to happen?"

"Even so, the death of all these Tenryubito…"

"There were no witnesses. They did not get their admiral to save them. It's all good."

"Oh Naru-chan, that won't work all the time."

"Yes, but it worked this time." Naruto shrugged and gently laid Tsuru back onto her chair, giving her a soft massage as he continued, "You think too much, Tsuru-baa, and usually that's not a bad thing, but now you're just over thinking things. What's done is done. I'm here, you're here, Kuzan and Borsalino knows, Garp knows, Sengoku lets us think he doesn't know but I'm pretty sure he knows, and Sakazuki hasn't got a clue. Do you know why these people are in the know? Because I choose to let them know, Tsuru-baa."

"I decide who I trust in, and who is worthy to be on this side. Sakazuki is a mere idiot who knows nothing about justice. He is merely using it as an excuse to make him feel righteous whilst killing anyone who stands in his way. This world is currently governed by power, and absolute power will corrupt absolutely. That saying has been proven correct wherever you go."

"The Tenryubito are taking it too far. They think they're superior simply because of their blood, but after all these years, I have yet to see them do anything worthy of their current status. With their wealth and political power, if they were truly determined to revolutionize the world, they would have succeeded by now. Instead, they get drunk on their power, choosing to believe that something given to them before their birth equaled eternal superiority against the others."

Tsuru let off a heavy sigh, before taking Naruto's hand in her own, "From the looks of it, it's not the first time you've met this type of people?"

"My once best friend chose to shove his hand through my gut because he thought he needed power that my village couldn't provide him with, simply because he felt the village wasn't tending to his needs enough. He was superior and he was better than all of us, so he needed better treatment, better teachers, and better tools." Naruto's eyes darkened as he remembered a particular Uchiha whom he failed to save in the end. That person was completely engulfed by the darkness, and chose an evil path to take. Naruto took him down personally in the final war, as a promise to his cherry blossom, that he would at least make sure that the Uchiha would die by his hands, because they were, and always will be, Team Seven.

"I see. Very well then, we'll leave it at that." Smiling slightly, the elderly woman glanced behind her, "Though I suppose the three girls you saved in particular had nothing to do with it whatsoever?"

"… You really do know everything, don't you Tsuru-baa…." Sputtering slightly, Naruto sighed, "Those three are from the Kuja tribe. How they got caught I have no idea, but..." Staring out the windows, "You could see how hurt they were. Nyougashima has no men whatsoever, all they had were women. And to suddenly have someone brand you as a slave mentally and physically for a male, a disgusting, arrogant male at that, one can only guess what kind of torture they underwent. Good news though, was that they weren't raped or anything, their owner wasn't a pedophile, so he simply fed them devil fruits for them to be more entertaining."

"My, my, you do seem to have a soft spot for girls."

"I'm ten Tsuru-baa, don't even go there."

"You're not ten and you know it."

"Do you really want me to give you grandkids now? Because I will do it."

"I would love to have grandkids now. Won't you be a dear and – "

"Tsuru-baa!"

"Hahahaha, so some things do get you rattled after all." With a teasing smile on her face, Tsuru pinched Naruto's cheek, "Don't go off breaking hearts all over the place now, wait a few more years."

"Hai, hai." Releasing a sigh of relief, Naruto kept up the massage.

"Now about that Ohara girl…"

"TSURU-BAA!"

"Well if you cut down on the times you go have fun with those pirates, I might choose to forget some things." A devious gleam appeared in the Great Tactician's eyes, signaling that she was in bargaining mode.

"Just how do you know all this? Do you somehow stalk me from hundreds of miles away or something? It's Vegapunk isn't it, he put some sort of device on me that lets you know where I am, huh? I'll kill that bastard!"

"Naru-chan, language."

"I'm a MARINE!"

"No, you're not."

"Okay. I _will become_ a MARINE!"

"And until you do become one, you rinse your mouth clean every day, twice."

"… I'm ten, Tsuru-baa, not stupid."

"I do not understand your fascination with those barbaric brutes."

"Shanks is fun though! I mean come on! He's been trying to get me into a drinking… ah…"

"Hm, I seem to recall you frequenting visits to the East Blue, maybe I should – "

"OKAY! Okay! I won't go have fun with them as much! I promise!" Naruto was seen on the floor on his knees in the next, begging for mercy, "Can you please just tell me how you know all this?"

Tsuru chuckled merrily after getting her way, "That's a secret."

"Awww."

"Now Naru-chan, I've kept my eyes closed on certain matters, but it doesn't mean I'm oblivious to it. Kuzan and the others don't know it yet, but Garp did mention to me that there was a new bookshop last he went to Fuusha village, with a woman who was found on the shores one day, middle age, slim, white glasses and short hair. You know that old fool and his blabbering mouth, the next thing you know he could be telling everyone about it. I've threatened him with another secret that he's keeping, so he'll be quiet for now. But like I've been saying from the start, you have to be more careful with things like this."

"Tsuru-baa…" Naruto gave a grateful smile as he got back off the floor, "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Sengoku is keeping an eye on you now that you took part in the destruction of Mariejois. You just got lucky that you happened to kill a Tenryubito he wasn't fond of."

"Ah, so that was the reason why."

Pulling him onto her lap just like she used to five years ago, Tsuru spoke in a serious manner, "It is time Naru-chan, for you to become an official Marine. That is the only way for people not to suspect your actions. Go to Sengoku, and tell him your motives, and tell him that I trust you under either Kuzan or Borsalino. I've already spoken to them about this and they agree. How you got those two to like you I have no idea, but since they do like you, we're going to use it to our advantage."

"Yes Madam." That cheeky grin was back on his face as he hugged her back, "You're right, it is time. I guess I'll have to stop having so much fun then, eh? Keep the pranks within the headquarters."

"Oh no you don't, if I find out one more time that you've swapped the sugar and the salt in the kitchen, I will – "

"But it's so ridiculously amusing! I mean how often can they fall for that? You would think that those cooks were idiots or something for not recognizing something so simple! They should be fired!"

And with that, the day passed by peacefully. It was just another day during the growth of Uzumaki Naruto.

X – X

"Uzumaki! Smoker! Get your asses back here now!" Roared the officer in charge at the training school.

"Screw that shit! I'm not going back to suffer more!" The white-haired teenager grumbled as he increased his pace, "And why the hell are you following me?"

"Eh? Me? I got bored of the lessons and thought I should run too. Heh heh." The twelve year old blonde scratched his head as he caught up to Smoker, "But dang, I didn't think this school thing would take so long! That Tsuru-baa, I knew something was wrong when she had that look in her eyes!"

"Feh, only you dare call the great Tactician Tsuru-baa, anyone else that even looks her way gets scared off." Jumping over the fence, both of them landed onto the basketball courts, where they both stopped to take a break.

"You're pretty *huff* fit aren't you? Not many people can keep up with me." Panted Smoker.

"Haha, nah, this is nothing. Kuzan and Borsalino would laugh at me if I couldn't even do this."

"Would you stop mentioning the names of those Admirals like they mean nothing? It's kinda disturbing." The nineteen year old raged as he shook his fist at Naruto, " And also! Don't think you're off the hook just like that! I blame you for getting us into this situation!"

"What? What did I do?"

"Don't give me that innocent look! You're not fooling anyone!"

"Awww *sniff sniff*, Smoker-san is bullying me. Waaaaaah!"

"Oh for the love of God, can you just shut up?" It was clear that Naruto was up to his old tricks again. In a way, this was his revenge. Since he couldn't (and of course wouldn't) enact harmful acts on his precious Tsuru-baa, he could find ways to annoy other people, namely, the person in front of him who was in the same class as him.

This dude was a serious trouble maker, always so angry, look at that red face of his and those smoke coming out of his ears, why, one might even think he was going to kill the twelve year old!

"I'm gonna kill you, you dipshit!"

"Hey, that's mean and vulgar. I'm just a good little boy, what are you on about?"

"_Whiteout!_" A huge strand of smoke just exploded from the white-haired teen's body, charging straight at Naruto, only for it to miss completely as Naruto evaded with a simple _Soru_.

"Man, you just never give up, do you?"

"Stop using the Rokushiki and fight me like a real man! Then I'll take you down and smack your face all over this court!"

"Just because I told the teacher you were the one who put that fake love letter in his drawer – "

"I KNEW IT!"

"And maybe screwed up your hair gel - "

"THAT WAS YOU?"

"But seriously, those were nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you now."

"WHAT?"

"Waaaaah! Hina-nee-chan! Smoker-san is being so mean to me! He's trying to kill me!" Sobbing crocodile tears, he leapt past a dumbfounded Smoker into the arms of a seventeen-year old Hina.

"When did you, how did you, what are you..." Needless to say, Smoker wasn't pleased with Hina's sudden appearance.

"Mo, Smoker-kun! Why do you keep bullying Naruto-chan? Look at him!"

"You're being lied to! Look at that devious smile of his! He's making stupid faces at me while you glare! Look!"

"Hina didn't take you to be that type of person, Smoker-kun, Hina is disappointed. Very disappointed."

"Oh hell not this shit again." Slapping a hand on his face, the white-haired teen began tuning out the lecture that was soon to come.

"You swear too much, Smoker-kun, if Bellemere-san was to hear you, you would definitely be killed by now. Hina is worried for you, very worried." The fact that her eyes held no such worry made it all the more amusing.

This was the bit that Naruto enjoyed the most – Hina berating Smoker. The former was only seventeen years old but one of best students in the academy. She had respectable skill, a paramecia devil fruit power in _Ori Ori no mi_, and was one of the most beautiful girls there were. It was only natural that she became a popular person. This popular person however, had an extreme interest in Smoker and Naruto.

Everyone knew who these two were since they were notorious troublemakers, but Naruto was further known to be sent into the academy under the orders of Vice-admiral Tsuru. Now that was saying something. A ten-year old being sent into an academy that usually took no one below the age of fifteen and instantly entered a class normally reserved for advanced students aged seventeen to twenty meant that the boy had lots of 'enemies' the moment he entered the class.

Needless to say, there were always these people with egos that couldn't stand to lose to a mere kid, and he was challenged multiple times, but they were all easily dispatched. Hina had tried fighting him too, in a normal combat practice, but was floored by his skill and finesse. Even with her Devil fruit powers, she couldn't get a clean hit on him. He would just block or evade and give her light slaps on parts of her bodies that would have been heavy strikes if it were a true fight.

This was a ten year old, fighting like a veteran. The only thing weird was that he would seem to get tired at night after training, to which Naruto simply replied that he was a ten-year old. As unfortunate as it was, being a ten-year old meant that you had the body of a ten-year old, and that body had a limit to how much fatigue it could take. It didn't matter how strong the soul or brain was, the physical aspects of the body still needed to be trained. That last outing he had in Ohara meant that he couldn't use Natural energy for a whole year. His body simply wasn't built to use that power yet.

This was part of the reason why Tsuru told him to join the academy. Kuzan was lazy in teaching him, choosing to teach him new stuff every day, and Borsalino focused mainly on speed. Neither of the two even thought about stamina being a problem since the little blob of sunshine was bouncing everywhere all the time. That day, the two had finished their lunch and were wondering why Naruto never showed up to their usual training session, and so they went to find him at Tsuru's room. It was there they witnessed the kid having a high fever, with his muscles having constant cramps and a worried Tsuru tending to him by the bed.

That was when they realized that this kid, was really just that, a kid. No matter how strong, how much potential he showed, he was still just a kid. Ever since then, they slowed down on the training, and after time, Tsuru realized that it wasn't helping Naruto at all. The boy needed to physically get his body up to shape, because mentally wise, he was there a long time ago. All he needed was a few years of rugged practice before he could reach his peak. Naruto himself estimated that around the late twenties, he should be back to his original form.

What impressed Hina the most (and Smoker, though he would only begrudgingly admit it) was the hard work Naruto would put in every single day. The ways he trained after everyone went to bed was phenomenal and sometimes completely unheard of. The intensity of his training definitely showed off as he had a well-defined body, standing at a tall five feet four inches (1.62m) at the age of twelve. He was almost as tall as Hina, who was five years his senior, and Hina was considered to be a tall girl. His skills in the Rokushiki was rumoured to be the best in the academy, though Hina knew that to be true. She had asked repeatedly how he managed to do it and the simple answer she got was 'hard work'.

It wasn't as if Naruto was going to tell her that the so-called 'Soru' was like running to him. After Hiraishin and Shunpo? Pft, stomping the ground ten times just to get a speed boost was nothing.

Tekkai _(Iron Body) _was even funnier. Oooh, I make my body hard like iron. He practiced that _Hari Jizo_ technique of Jiraiya for ages just to get his hair to be that hard, and that was way more difficult than Tekkai.

Geppou _(Moon Step) _was a nice learn, but again Shunpo practice covered it.

Kami-E _(Paper Dodge) _was just plain ridiculous. Dodging? For an ex-ninja? Seriously?

Shigan _(Finger Gun)_, now that was a skill he had fun learning, though Rasengan was still cooler.

Rankyaku _(Storm Legs)_ was like shigan but with legs. That's what he thought of it as anyway. It's like shockwaves from your legs. He could do that with just taijutsu. People like Rock Lee and Maito Gai do it all the time.

But, him being the humble self that he was, never complained as he relentlessly worked at the Rokushiki.

Oh who was he kidding, he slacked off in class when they were teaching it and trained himself at night. That was when he got caught by Hina. The kind senpai had wanted to find out what it was that made this young kid be so lazy during class. From what she could see, he definitely had the potential, but it was like all these stuff was beneath him, and that she couldn't take. Arrogance was not something this boy needed, and she was going to lecture him properly if need be. That night, she got there and saw him doing one finger push-ups, balancing on a kunai. Where he got the kunai from, she had no idea, but that definitely freaked her out.

Who the hell trained like that?

Naruto did, and from then on, Hina never questioned Naruto's lack of attentiveness in class again.

"Oi! You brats over there! What are you doing escaping from class again huh? And you even dragged poor Hina into this! Are you kidding me? Get your asses over here, NOW!" A boisterous female voice echoed across the courts, causing both Naruto and Smoker to stiffen.

This was not a voice they wanted to hear.

"Tch, that crazy bitch found us, I'm outta here." In a wisp of smoke he was off. Funny how he had to use his Devil Fruit abilities to escape.

But it didn't matter anyway. He was dragged back in five seconds, "Who were you calling stupid bitch, hm? DETENTION YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

"Bellemere-sensei, I was dragged along by him! I'm completely innocent!" Those crocodile tears were falling again.

"LIES! ALL LIES! Don't believe him! He's a lying, no-good, mother fu –"

"Smoker-kun, it would be best if you shut up at the moment. Here, Hina will help you." With a swing of her arm, his mouth was 'bound'.

"HM! HMHMHMHM! MMMMHPH!"

"I take that to mean, hey, why did you do this? Heeeeey. Is that right?"

"HMM!"

"Yeah, I'm awesome."

"Naruto-kun, run along to class with Hina-san. I'll take this scoundrel to the taps and give him a thorough washing."

"HMMMMMM!"

"He says 'no' by the way."

"Psh, like I care. Now go on, I'll let you off this time, but if I catch you again, I will have no mercy, understood?"

"Hai, sensei! Come on Hina-nee-chan." With that, he quickly grasped an indifferent Hina's hand and dragged her away from the courts as fast as he could.

Everyone knew of the violent temper of Bellemere. She herself was a problematic student at the start but had since then climbed the ranks of a marine at the young age of twenty three. Now, she was a respected Captain, though most feared her more than anything, and was the bane of all the academy delinquents.

This was proven by the horrible screams that filled the air near the fountain.

"Naruto-chan, you are really evil. Hina is impressed, very impressed."

"Why thank you. Want to go to dinner after class? My treat."

"Hina would love to. Are you cooking? If yes, Hina is looking forward to it."

"Yep! What can I say, my ramen tastes absolutely fantastic! I should really start a chain store like Ichiraku. Hm, maybe when I grow up."

"Can Hina have a Miso ramen tonight?"

"Sure! I'll give Tsuru-baa a call and tell her I'm cooking tonight."

"Hina lucky." _(Note that that was spoken in Japanese. I left out the 'is' in what shoulda been Hina 'is' lucky.)_

"Ah, why not get Bellemere-sensei over as well, I'm sure she would love to listen to some of Tsuru-baa's lectures."

"Hina repeats, Naruto-chan is very evil. Hina is very impressed, very, very impressed."

"Aw, Hina-nee-chan, would you like extra noodles and spices to go with it?"

"Hina very lucky."

X – X

"Man, this thing is such a drag…" A seventeen year old Naruto sighed as he played around with his Marine cap.

"Naruto-sama, rear admirals (少将 _Shōshō_) do not find their jobs boring at a time like this." A slim teenage girl with short blonde hair replied primly.

"Please, the only reason you're here is because I asked Tsuru-baa. Without me, you're nothing! Bwahahaha!"

Adjusting her glasses, she gave a calm and collected reply, "Naruto-sama, that's sexual harassment."

"Oh for the love of God, would you stop with that? How was that sexual harassment? You're fifteen! You shouldn't even know what sexual harassment is! What books are Tsuru-baa feeding you?" It didn't take much for one to realize that Naruto was bored. The fact he was almost screaming out those words plus his random wild gestures with his hands show just how rattled he was.

It couldn't be helped. The duties of a Rear Admiral demand that he took his job seriously, and so he was here. It didn't mean that he had to like it though. Seriously, they needed _him_ to protect some stupid King from a faraway country that no one really cared about? This was Mariejois! No one attacked this place without warning!

Okay, so maybe he did, and that fishmen Tiger guy did too, that was irrelevant. It's Alabasta, Illusia and Drum! A desert, a country outside of the Grand Line and a place with nothing but snow! What was there to worry about? Who on earth would come kill the kings of these three countries?

"Naruto-sama, you're hyperventilating."

Stupid Kuzan, stupid Garp, stupid Borsalino, and most of all, stupid freaking Sengoku! Why would they even promote him to Rear Admiral? He didn't even do anything! He came out of the academy, went around the Grand Line just like Hina and Smoker did, and just fooled around!

So he became friends with Juraquille Mihawk and got him to become an ally for the Marines. That wasn't even hard! The dude was bored one day after an afternoon nap and just so happened to see Naruto and his ship doing absolutely nothing out on the sea. They weren't even patrolling! Mihawk just started chopping and hacking at his ship (Naruto would never admit that Mihawk used swordsmanship with that big black butcher knife he kept carrying around). Naturally, the blond got mad and retaliated. After those years of physical tuning of his body and relentless practicing of his skills, he was well on his way to his prime.

The match ended in a draw, though Naruto had yet to pull out his big guns (well, Mihawk held back somewhat too), and so the two started drinking. Yeah, it was two men after a fight at dusk, what better than to get some good old wine/sake/vodka out at a random bar on one of the islands and get dead drunk? The fact that Naruto _cannot_ get drunk made it all the more worthwhile once they decided to hold a drinking contest. Long story short, Mihawk got drunk, and some insanely stupid Mountain thieves stumbled upon a drunken Mihawk. The result wasn't pretty. They got hurt pretty bad, since Naruto didn't really bother stopping the hawk-eyed man. It was more fun that way. Next morning, Mihawk found himself on a bed with note telling him how to find Naruto if something came up. A few days later, Mihawk turned up at the Marine headquarters himself to inform Sengoku that he agreed to become what would later come to be known as a Shichibukai _(Seven Warlords of the Sea)_.

Speaking of drinking, dang, that old man Whitebeard could drink. Hell, he was huge for a normal human, and Naruto kept bugging him about whether or not he was part-giant, to which Edward Newgate simply responded with a smack of his fist. It didn't hit Naruto of course, but still, that was quite mean from the blond's point of view. He silently cursed the old man in getting liver cancer once he saw what kind of nurses he had to tend him with. Those hot beauties that surround him and tend to his every need, gaaaah! That was like the dream of every single male alive! A pretty, sexy, alluring nurse? Hell yeah! Why didn't the Marines have them? They only had stupid, ditzy and clumsy ones! Gawd, the advantages to becoming a pirate!

Years later, Naruto would joke that this was part of the reason why he left the Marines. Only to be smacked in the back of his head by Tsuru. And any other women he knew. Not at the same time, no, but since that comment was published in the papers, pretty much everyone knew, and all the men cheered him on. It would have been funny if they all slapped him at the same time, that would've been a scary sight.

It would seem that most of the Yonkou _(Four Emperors)_ liked to drink. Red-haired Shanks was a very bad drunk. He sucked at handling the hangovers that would come and he loved to throw tantrums the moment he got drunk. The vomiting, the tendency to be violent and the hugging and laughter and other embarrassing stuff were all on full display on every single drinking occasion Naruto had with the guy. He couldn't understand how his crew could stand him. Then again, they were pretty rowdy too, so that point was moot.

Bartholew Kuma was a surprising one for the blond. The former 'Tyrant' who worked for the Revolutionaries met him one day and decided to accept the World Government's invitation to become a Shichibukai. He had at first been shocked to hear Kuma agree, since he had known a year ago that this man hated the World Government with a passion. Staring at him suspiciously, the seven metre tall man had whispered a single name to him and erased any doubts he might have had. That man would never lie to him, and knowing his relationship to Kuma and what they've been through, this must be one of his plans again. But to think Kuma would 'sacrifice' himself just like this, talk about loyalty.

Naruto really admired Kuma's personality. Whether he really was brutal and tyrannical, Naruto did not know, for he had never seen him act as a pirate yet, but from what he had seen, Kuma was a very nice guy, leaning towards the idea of Moral justice rather than absolute. In some ways, Kuma reminded him of Saul, mostly because of the size of the man and his soft way of speaking. Naruto really missed that giant and in Kuma, he found a friend. The man knew so much about so many things, and it was an absolute joy to talk to him. When he learned that Kuma wanted to strike a deal with the famed Dr. Vegapunk, he brought him to the laboratory without hesitation. He had wanted to leave the two to their own devices but surprisingly, Kuma insisted that Naruto stay. That was the day Naruto learned of the Pacifista Project, and the ultimate end of what would happen to the former Revolutionary.

"_Are you serious about this? You're turning yourself into a robot! Please tell me you're joking!" _

"_No, this is the deal I have in mind. Do you accept, Doctor?"_

"_Oh no no no no no, do not say yes, you hear me Doc Punk! Don't you dare!" _

"_I see you leave me no choice. I find it intriguing that one with your status would volunteer for a human project like this, but it is not my position to question your motives. I accept."_

"_You WHAT?" _

"_Then it is a deal."_

"_I'm right here you know! Shouldn't you take my advice into consideration?" _

"_Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto."_

"_Okay, I don't get you. I don't think I ever will. You're too complicated."_

"_I'll take that as a compliment."_

"_IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE ONE!" _

It seemed that after that event, Naruto made it a point to improve his relationship with Kuma. He wanted to know more about this mysterious man and maybe the secret plan that he had. One would have to be lying if they said they weren't even the tiniest bit interested in this grand scheme the revolutionary army seemed to have. Their leader was a tough cookie, and as a Marine, and as the surrogate grandson of the great Tactician, the curiosity in Naruto was about to burst.

The sight of Kuma smiling was definitely a rare thing, but whenever Naruto came to visit, or he went to see the blond teenager, it would definitely be a common occurrence. It would seem that the man really enjoyed his presence, and vice versa, though he would slap Naruto with his _Niku Niku no mi_ powers if he got too annoying. Naruto would come back in like a few seconds from wherever Kuma sent him, since Naruto locked Mariejois as one of his Hiraishin points. It was more of a joke between the two.

Naruto's relationship with the admirals pretty much remained the same. He still liked Kuzan and Borsalino. He still hated Sakazuki, not that the man knew. Naruto would always be prim, proper and respectful whenever they were in the same room, but once Sakazuki was gone, oooh, the hate came pouring out. Not that he spoke ill behind his back or stuff like that, but the blatant dislike shown from his face was pretty obvious to the other two admirals. They laughed it off and called him a brat, since they didn't really care if he hated Sakazuki or not. Naruto was now having regular spars with them, sometimes pushing them into going all out, but that would only end up with him losing. With each year that passed, the obvious growth in strength and power of Naruto led the two to believe that he wasn't far off from reaching his true potential, and they were right. Naruto was still developing his body and trying to get in touch with this 'Haki' energy that seemed to govern the second half of the Grand Line.

It was somewhat like Natural energy and chakra, leaning towards mental energy more than anything. It was like an exertion of will by force, at least that's what he thought it was. Tsuru informed him that it was only because he held the _Haoshoku_ Haki that he felt that way, the other two types were a completely different story. So in his arsenal, he had Rokushiki, basic uses of Haki, jutsu and kido of all types, sennin powers and… that was about it. He rarely ever called on his personas because he didn't find the need for them. There was nothing out there that was big enough for him to feel the need to call them. The summons that he had were kinda useless so far, because toads in seawater wasn't a good idea, and the Kitsune he had access to were either too damn destructive (_Kyuubi no Kitsune, _九尾の狐) or too damn seductive (_Hagoromo Gitsune_, 羽衣狐).

He would have tried to develop the uses of _Osore_ (Fear, 畏), but that was only useful against _youkai_ (Demon, 妖怪) so he didn't bother practicing those. It wasn't like that time in the Summons world where he had to take on the entire Kitsune clan just to get them to submit to his rule. That was fun though.

Anyways, back on topic.

So he was strong, that much was a given. But he was bored! There were like no fights whatsoever! Sure, he had spars, but they were spars! Not fights to the death or hot-blooded angry fights that he had back in the good old days! Kuzan wasn't that hot-blooded and Borsalino couldn't be bothered. He hated Sakazuki and Garp was always off training that grandson of his. Man, he pitied the poor bastard that got trained by him. That guy was nuts, he probably thought that throwing people off cliffs and flinging them high into the stratosphere was the right way to get someone stronger.

Years later, after meeting Luffy, he got a sense of déjà vu. _Hmmm…_

Speaking of which, he had made several visits to _Fuusha_ Village each year, checking up on a certain white-haired female. Over the years, more and more evidence seemed to pop out of nowhere that the Scholars from Ohara were framed, and that the true culprits were within the World Government themselves. As such, certain high-ranking officials found themselves removed from their seats one by one, and it just so happened to be the ones that believed deeply in Absolute justice. No one suspected Naruto at all because it was Sengoku and the Gorousei who approved of the arrests. Funny how those who believed in absolute justice were arrested for that justice they believed in.

Last he met Olivia, he had given her news of the current status of his plan and the whereabouts of Robin. That girl was growing up mighty fine, cunning and devious with a wicked streak at times. It was only natural for her to turn out like this. Naruto had told her during their first meeting that the sea was a dangerous and tricky place, and one had to know how to lie, escape and betray before they could survive. Robin had done plenty of that, though he felt slightly guilty when he saw those betrayals. Nico Robin was one feared presence and a natural beacon for disaster wherever she went. Yet those evil pirates continued to enlist Robin into their plans so it was their own fault when the Marines swooped in on them time and time again.

Last he heard, Robin was hiding herself away somewhere in Alabasta, choosing to work under the other Shichibukai, Crocodile. With Ishtar helping her, he wasn't too fussed. The girl was smart and knew how to take care of herself. At first Olivia had been worried when it was announced that the all-new Cipher Pol. 9 was sent to track down and hunt Robin themselves, but then Naruto told her that he was in charge of CP9 and all they were really doing was helping Robin whenever they could. That girl would always smile upon seeing those short messages he left her, and would take pride in knowing that the boy whom she owed her life and sanity to had never forgotten her. Ishtar would only tease her that she had fallen in _wuv_, but after ten years of getting used to that, she was quite the master at the arts of seduction and teasing, so she had sent back a retort about how Ishtar got rejected by Gilgamesh, leaving the goddess gritting her teeth in annoyance. Why did she tell her that story again?

It wasn't to say Robin didn't have her share of sadness and pain, but the presence of Ishtar definitely kept her heart from breaking. Betrayals were never the nicest things to do, especially when you find yourself liking the people that you know you would have to betray. The World Government was still out to get her, and she was like a fugitive, constantly on the move. The pirates only knew of her as the 'Devil Child', but most looked down her, since she was only a little girl back then, but as the years went by, she grew stronger, striving to attain power so that she could protect her precious ones, just like he taught her to.

Speaking of which, the CP9 did get reformed, because Naruto had told Sengoku that he wanted to do stuff because he was bored. The Supreme Commander tried to find him a random section of the Marines for him to lead or a personal warship for patrols but after serious consideration, he decided to re-make the ninth division of the Cipher Pol. Giving Naruto a ship to patrol was like letting him have free access to all those pirate friends he had. What kind of a marine had so many friends in pirates? Preposterous!

So off went Naruto to the homeland of the Cipher Pol members, where they were training since a very young age, just so that they could one day be of use to the World Government. It was there where he first met Kalifa. The girl just stood out too much. In a place where everyone was sweating and punching things, she was reading a book. Not that it was a bad thing, but one just didn't expect a girl who was supposed to be a killing machine be interested in books. She was now his secretary, though Naruto had no idea why he needed one. It was Tsuru-baa's idea, and he had long since decided never to question her motives. That woman had nothing but the best of intentions for him, and he had always remembered that, making sure to do her proud whenever the chance came.

The other major member of the CP9 he found was Rob Lucci, the notorious killer of five hundred soldiers in an attempt to rescue the King of a certain country. The first thing Naruto did was beat the crap out of him. The eighteen year old had no chance against him. By the end of the session, there wasn't a single bone that wasn't broken on his body. Terrifying, indeed. When asked why he did that, Naruto simply replied that he had to beat the arrogance out of Lucci, otherwise the man would never learn and improve. Being humble was the first step in finding mistakes within you, thereby allowing you to correct them, leading to progress. Till this day, Lucci would remember the joke that Naruto told him after the beat down.

"_First they tell you that there's no such thing as perfection, then they say practice makes perfection. I wish they would make up their minds." _

The underlying meaning behind those words was simple. Rob Lucci was no perfection. He had much more room to push himself further, much more potential that he had to unearth and much more practice he could have put in. And that was exactly what he did. Ever since that incident, Lucci became of Naruto's most loyal subordinates, and though he still held some of his cruel streak, Naruto didn't mind. The kid was hurt since he was young, and the concept that power determined one's chances of survival in this world stuck to his head. It was true to a certain extent, but focusing solely on that would have been silly, so Naruto would talk to him about it every now and then, slowly trying to convert him. So far, it would seem to be successful.

Along with Lucci were Jabra and Blueno. Jabra resembled a chinese martial artist who had the tendency to lie through anything with a straight face while cheating whenever he could. Devious, cunning and kinda funny to be around. Blueno was more serious, though Naruto just laughed at his hairstyle. The two didn't take that too well and were treated to separate beat downs. This was before Lucci so the two had no idea what they were going up against.

Kaku was even younger than Kalifa, but showed lots of promise, what with his special _Yontoryuu_ (Four sword style) that he developed, combining Rankyaku with dual swords. In particular, Naruto liked his nose, so he picked him. Kaku could be heard bragging years later that his nose got him the trust that he had from Naruto. The other CP9 members would just roll their eyes and call him an idiot.

Fukurou and Kumadori were the weirdos he picked. Who had a zip in his mouth at such a young age? The fact that he really did resemble an owl cracked Naruto up to no end. Kumadori had this overdramatic flair, plus he was a sennin, or at least a sennin in training, so Naruto decided to bring him along. He somewhat regretted that decision when Kumadori started speaking like a Kabuki actor. It got really annoying really fast, so he started smacking Kumadori around more in training sessions, not that the pink-haired guy knew why. He just thought the leader was being tough on him so that he could improve more, and he got so moved that he almost cried and committed seppuku. The fact that he always activates Tekkai before committing seppuku got annoying very fast as well, so he got smacked around even more.

The seven of them formed the all new Cipher Pol 9, with Naruto commanding their missions and giving them direct orders as to how they carry out their jobs. Over the past few years, CP9 had been reestablished to their former glory, and maybe even past that, because not only were the members of the group very talented, they were very young as well, especially Kaku, Lucci and Kalifa. They were rumoured to be strongest CP9 group there ever was, and have yet to be proven wrong.

"Naruto-sama, is something wrong? You were spacing out for a very long time."

"Huh? I was? Oh, just reminiscing stuff."

"Is that so, you seem a lot calmer now."

"Yeah, I was thinking of the first time I met you guys."

"… I see." Kalifa had a gentle smile on her face, one completely different from the usual no-nonsense expression she carried around.

"Uzumaki-sama! The Kings have finished their talks. We will be escorting them back to their ships shortly!" A marine officer reported.

"Understood. Stay alert and focused."

"Hai!"

"Well then, my dear Kalifa-chan, shall we go?" Grinning, he held out his hand to her, only to see her walking past him already, with the same old, 'that's sexual harassment' reply being her answer.

"Yare, yare, so strict, Kalifa-chan."

"That's sexual harassment."

"Did you have to say that twice?"

X – X

"Keh! You stupid girl! You got in my way!"

_**SLAP!**_

"Wapol-sama! That's the daughter of the King of Alabasta! Surely – "

"Dalton, you seem to forget your place for a moment there. I _am_ the King of Drum Kingdom, are you telling me I can't even slap a girl I don't like?"

Upon arriving at the scene, Naruto frowned as he noticed a pretty little blue-haired girl with a swollen cheek, sitting on the ground before a short, plump man with a ridiculous outfit.

"That's Wapol from Drum Kingdom, Naruto-sama."

"I see." Rubbing his chin, he noticed the little girl slowly getting up. He could see the tears that were building up at the corners of her eyes and felt a hint of anger rise.

"Naruto-sama, killing Kings is an unwise action."

"I know, I know, geez, what do you take me for, an idiot?"

"Why yes, how did you know that, Naruto-sama?"

Ignoring her, the blond chose to see how the little girl handled the situation.

It was obvious she was in pain, but she mustered up her courage and gave a proper bow, "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking at where I was going. I apologize!"

Seeing how she was not reacting to the bait, Wapol could do nothing but give a 'harumph' and stomp his foot in anger, before raising his hand once again, "You think apologizing means anything to me, you stupid little – "

"Wapol-san." A quiet voice was heard behind the King of Drum country as a figure towered over him, "I would advise against using force on such a young girl lest I be forced to use strength to take you out." Those cerulean orbs were radiating killing intent that slowly permeated through the room, focusing mainly on Wapol, but the threat was there to inform those soldiers from Drum Kingdom that he wasn't joking.

"I, I, I wasn't going to hit her! It was just a g-g-gesture t-to show h-her that sh-she needs to respect her e-e-elders!"

"Then I suggest you be on your way now. She has shown you more respect than you deserve."

"Why you! Who do you think you're talking to –"

"_Rankyaku!_" A blue shockwave was sent flying at the soldier who spoke, blasting him right out of the area. Kalifa merely adjusted her glasses as she recovered from her stance, standing silently beside Naruto now that her job was accomplished.

"Do realize, Wapol-san, that my patience is limited. Weren't you on your way out of Mariejois? You wouldn't want to have an accident before you leave would you?" Those intimidating eyes never left the King and it didn't take long before he gave off a lame excuse and ran out of there as fast as he could.

"I apologize for his actions. Please, do not take his opinion as the whole of drum Kingdom's opinion." The guard that was with him, named Dalton, stayed back and gave a proper apology before leaving the scene.

Naruto smiled once, acknowledging his request, before turning back to the girl who was on the verge of crying.

"You were very brave, princess; you've done your father and your country proud. Here's a reward for you. Now don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Do you trust me?" Speaking in a soft voice, Naruto knelt down in front of the girl, lightly caressing her swollen cheek.

Having just witnessed this man before her scare off the evil dwarf, Vivi slowly nodded her head, "I trust you! And thank you for saving me just now!"

"What a polite little girl!" Kalifa chuckled as she nodded in satisfaction, "There's a bright future ahead for Alabasta."

Blushing cutely, VIvi shook her head, "No, no, I'm too young. I'm only six." As though to emphasize that, she stuck out six fingers, with a pout on her face.

"Hahaha! Don't worry, you'll grow old soon enough. Now let me heal that for you." With his hand brimming with a light green aura, he gently eased his hand onto her swollen cheek, erasing the pain in no time.

"H-how did you do that? It doesn't hurt anymore!" Vivi exclaimed in surprise as she poked at her cheek repeatedly, "How did you do that, how did you do that? Can you teach me?"

Her enthusiasm was very contagious and before long, even Kalifa joined in the fun, at the insistence of Naruto.

It would be another ten minutes later when the guards of Alabasta came looking for her frantically, "Vivi-sama! Vivi-sama where are you?"

"Well, it seems like our playtime is over. Go on Vivi-chan, they're worried about you."

"Awww, but you're so fun! What is your name? I'll get Daddy to invite you to Alabasta!"

"Haha, okay. But don't force your Daddy alright? My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki? Naruto? Such a weird name, hehe." Seeing him deadpan, Vivi gave him a victorious grin, "You must promise to come visit me! Otherwise I won't go."

"And here I thought you were just a goodie goodie two shoes, but it seems like you're just a playful little girl, aren't you? Alright, I promise."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Yay! Okay! Igaram and Pell are looking for me, so I have to go now. Bye bye!"

"Take care! And remember to stop bumping into evil dwarfs now!" Waving back to her as the little girl rushed off to find her guards, Naruto chuckled as he turned back to Kalifa, "Looks like we'll be visiting Alabasta in a month or two."

"Understood, I'll add it to the schedule."

X – X

"Oh thank god, Vivi-sama, where have you been? I heard you bumped into that disgusting man Wapol just now. Are you hurt anywhere?" Igaram fussed all over his precious princess while Pell sighed in relief.

"Yeah! That bad man hit me."

"WHAT? That bast – "

"But it's okay. My new friend just healed it for me."

"Your new… your new friend?"

"Yeah! His name is Uzumaki Naruto. Funny name huh?"

"Uzuma… Wait a minute, isn't that…" Exchanging glances with Pell, Igaram slowly gulped, "Did he have yellow hair?"

"Yep!"

"Was he wearing a blue and white coat?"

"Yep!"

"Did he have this girl wearing glasses following him?"

"Yeah! Kalifa-nee-chan was really nice to me as well!"

"Oh dear lord! I must report this to the King!"

"Ne, ne, can we invite them to Alabasta? I want to see them again!"

"You want to invite the CP9 to –"

"Of course you can, Vivi."

"Cobra-sama!" Pell exclaimed as Nefertari Cobra pulled Vivi into a hug.

"Papa! I was a good girl, I didn't cause any trouble for Alabasta."

"I know, I saw it all. You were very brave, Vivi."

"Ne, ne, Papa, so when can we invite Naruto-nii-chan and Kalifa-nee-chan to our home?"

"Cobra-sama, you cannot be serious! They are the CP9! World-class assassins!"

"How does next month sound?"

"Yay! I love Papa!"

"COBRA-SAMA!"

X – X

_**Buruburuburuburu… Buruburuburuburu…**_

"Yes? Yes, this is she. A message for Naruto-sama? I see, I'll pass it on."

"Hm? What is it Kalifa."

"It's from Captain Hina."

"Oh! Hina-chan. What's up?"

"She said 'Bellemere-san' is in danger, and that you need to meet up with her as soon as possible."

"What? Bellemere-san? But didn't she retire like… shit, this is bad. Hina never leaves a message unless it is really serious. Kalifa! We're going!"

"Hai, Naruto-sama!"

X – X

"Sha-ha-ha-ha! You think you can protect them? What a fool! This is why you humans are beneath us!"

"Bellemere-san! No!"

"Bellemere!"

_**Bang!**_

* * *

_**Right, end of a chapter. Man, this chap was long as for me. It got slower and harder to write towards the end, but I got it done. Hopefully it was alright. Review and tell me what you thought of it. Cheers. **_


	4. Racial Peace Treaty

_**A/N: Yeah I'm a bit late for this one, but like I said, exams coming up in half a month. Around November, they might really slow down to like a week, but yeah, just let me get them over with and we'll be back to normal. Anyway, good to see that no real complaints have been lodged with how I wrote this one, so I'm assuming I'm doing a good job. Some did say that Naruto seems overpowered, and well, I replied that antagonists in One Piece (Marines etc) are always overpowered, so yeah. Balance needed sometimes. Alright, let's get this started, enough chatter.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece/Naruto/Nurarihyon no Mago/Persona 3&4. Wow, there's a lot. I didn't intend for the last two to be there o.O**_

A Whole New World

Chapter 3: Racial Peace Treaty

"Bellemere-san!" The villagers of Cocoyashi village cried out as the former marine captain was shot in the chest.

This was unbelievable. It had been a relatively peaceful day, and all of a sudden, disasters were happening all over the place. To think that Fishmen would actually appear in the East Blue was saying something in itself. Their home base lay in the second half of the Grand Line, the Fishman Island. While there were rumours that recently there had been a split between the Sun Pirates that used to be led by the infamous Fishmen Fisher Tiger, well-known for his assault on Mariejois that freed fishmen, mermen and even human slaves, it was still shocking to see a faction of the pirates attack their village in the weakest of all four seas – The East Blue.

Against the natural strengths of the Fishmen, the villagers were helpless. Genzo, the sheriff of the town, had tried his best to divert their attention, wanting to save them time so that Bellemere and her kids could leave, but he was too late. His skills with his sword were nothing compared to the punches driven by the immense kinetics of the fishman muscles. He could only watch in despair as the woman he had watched grow as a girl get shot down for trying to protect her children. Such was the sadness of reality, where might makes right.

"Shahahaha! This is what you get for trying to act strong in front of us! Marine? HA! Who gives a shit about human Marines? They're nothing but a bunch of shit-eaters! Shahahaha!"

"Bellemere!"

"Bellermere-san!"

"No, why? No!"

Nami and Nojiko could only sob as their surrogate mother continued shielding them with her arms, her breath slowly getting weaker by the second.

"Remember… we… will always be… a family…" Holding Nami's hand and placing it in Nojiko's, she grasped them together tightly, "We might not have… the same blood… flowing through our bodies… but in our souls… I will always be your mother… and you will always be sisters…"

"We get it Mama! We get it! Please, don't die!"

"Yeah! We won't ever quarrel again! Please! No! Don't close your eyes! Look! Our hands are together! Mama!"

The cries of the children reverberated in the area, drawing a deep contrast with the arrogant laugh of the fishman Arlong. After that Jinbe had become a Shichibukai, the Sun pirates had basically split up and he decided that it was time for him to start his ambition. He will kill and torture any human that dared stand in his way, unlike that fool Otohime. He wasn't as naïve as the Queen to believe that humans and fishmen could ever be together. That was just pure stupidity! The fishmen were the better breed! So why bother living together peacefully when they could simply crush those inferior to them and get what they want? Look at all those humans that kidnap mermen and fishmen to sell at Sabaody Archipelago! It wasn't like they showed the fishmen any remorse! Screw those assholes! Today was the day, that he, Arlong, will take control over the East Blue!

"Mama!"

"Shut up you brat!" Arlong growled in anger as he easily picked up the tiny orange-haired human girl, "I'm laughing here. And when I laugh, I don't like hearing puny little punks like you cry. Now shut up!" Those shark eyes of his narrowed as he stared directly into the fearful orbs of little Nami.

"Leave the girl alone damn it!"

"Gen-san! No!"

"Argggh!" In a swift move, Kuroobi easily disarmed his sword, and using a series of slices, Genzo was sent flying back to the ground, with blood pooling around his injured body.

"Shahaha! Stupid idiots! Inferior beings will always be inferior. When will you humans finally understand that? HUH?"

Feeling a hand clutch his left foot, he tilted his head downwards and peeked curiously, "Hm?"

"Bellemere!"

"Stop, you're bleeding too much! If you keep moving, you'll die!" Yelled Dr. Nako, as he tried to struggle against the fishmen restraining him, only to be punched in the stomach, before he was thrown to the ground.

"Oya, oya, what is this?" As though seeing something with great interest, Arlong nudged the unmoving figure laid before him face down, "To think that you're still alive after that. Do you really want to die that badly huh?" Ramming his foot down on her shoulder, Arlong jeered, "I'm guessing you are."

"…. L-leave… Na… …one"

"Huh? I can't hear you, what did you say?" Holding his webbed hand to his ear, he asked rhetorically.

"L-leave… Nami… a-alone…"

"Nami? Shahahaha! Who is that? I have no idea who you're talking about! Shahahaha!" Turning his attention back to the girl he held in his hand, "All I know is that I could strangle this little girl the moment I feel like it! Oh, how about right now?"

"Urggh!"

"Nami!"

"Let the girl go!"

"Haven't you done enough?"

"We'll bow down to your rule, so leave her alone!"

"Shahahaha! Shut up! You humans are under my rule whether you like it or not! I don't really like people talking to me like that, such disrespect for a superior species. Kuroobi, get that other girl as well. We'll make an example of them right now. Shahahaha!"

"No! No! Let me go!"

"Nojiko!" Gen yelled as he tried with all his might to get up but with no avail. The fact that he was still conscious was incredible, considering the amount of pain he must be in.

"It is time, foolish humans! This is what will happen if you get on my nerves!" With a fling of his arm, little Nami and Nojiko were launched into the air. In a theatric fashion, Arlong widely opened his jaws, those shark teeth of his glistening in the sunlight.

He was going to eat them alive.

"No!"

"Oh my god, I can't watch this."

"Stop this, please! We'll do anything!"

"Y-you b-bastards… s-stop… r-right…"

"Shahahaha!"

"Nami!"

"Nojiko!"

A yellow flash raced through the area, plucking the two girls from the air, leaving an open-mouthed Arlong standing stupidly in the middle of the street.

"Arrrrgh? What the, where did they go?"

"Hey, who's that guy!"

At that moment, all eyes turned on the new comer, in particular the jacket of blue and white that he was wearing. He was a mere teenager, with spiky blond hair, and cold cerulean orbs to go with it. His cheeks had six-scar like features, surprisingly like whiskers, giving a rough character, to his otherwise, handsome face.

"Ho? A marine? And so young!" Arlong's smirk widened, "What, may I ask, do you think you're doing?"

The marine quietly placed the two crying girls on the ground, beside their surrogate mother, before speaking in a deep, smoothing voice, "It's okay. You're safe for now."

"But, but, but mama!"

"Sniff, sniff."

A small smile flashed across his lips, as he turned to the unconscious woman on the ground, "The Bellemere-san I know is stronger than that. She wouldn't let anyone beat her when it comes to protecting her precious people. Don't worry, she won't die."

"Hey, I asked you a quest – "

"_Sousei jutsu: Seimei Kikan._ _(Resurrection Technique: Restoration of Life)_"

A torrent of white energy stormed through the area, spiraling outwards from the Marine, gathering into a large orb, before gently floating down into the still woman beside him. A blaze of light engulfed the area, blinding everyone as a resounding echo signified the end of the process. The blond slowly stood up, panting somewhat, before loosening up his entire body, "There, she should be fine now. Is there a doctor in this village?"

"Hey! Arlong-san just asked you a question! Who the hell do you think you – "

Without even looking at his direction, Naruto pointed, "_Shisengan_. (指旋銃, _Finger Spiral Gun_)" A tiny blue orb was seen gathering on his forefinger, before it was fired at an extreme speed towards the speaking fishman.

The result was a great explosion as the fishman was sent crashing through a nearby hut.

"Is there a doctor in this village?" Those icy orbs slowly gazed around at the gaping fishmen who could not believe their sight. Did this human just take out one of their brethren by just pointing at him? Impossible!

"Yes! I *cough*, I'm a doctor!" Croaked Dr. Nako from his position. That last punch had really taken the air out of his lungs.

"I see."

With just a step, he disappeared from his former spot, appearing beside the old man, freeing him from the ropes easily.

"Hey! What are you doing!"

"How dare you just release him in front of us!"

"Get him!"

"_Shigan: Rokumyaku Shingan! _(指銃: 六脈神銃_ – __The Holy Gun of the Six Veins)_" Dividing the chakra into six different outputs, they were launched at the surrounding fishmen, and before they knew it, they were either taken down with holes through their torsos or sent flying just like their brethren before.

From the left hand, the thumb and the pinkie, from the right hand, the forefinger to the pinkie. Based on the medical files once written by Tsunade-baa-chan, the human body had multiple _tenketsu_ (点穴), points that either supported or broke the flow of the chakra when pressure was applied. By being able to utilize the flow of chakra using these points, one was able to increase his output of chakra by up to ten times the power in but an instant. This knowledge was the basis for her enormous strength, but Naruto had taken it for his own development of different projectile attacks.

While learning Shigan, he had decided that merely poking the enemy with your finger wasn't going to do too much damage, really. Unless of course, you hit a vital organ like a heart or brain. However, since most of the strong enemies in the Grand Line were either Logia or too skilled to let him just hit their vital organs, a different method of approach would be needed. Thinking back to those good old days, he remembered wishing that he could simply launch rasengans at people. Now he could. And that's exactly what he did. At least for Shisengan it was. Rokumyaku Shingan was more shooting off pure chakra, with incredible force backing it up, at an extremely high speed, forbidding the enemy from making any sort of reaction to it before it hit its target. One of the strongest assassination techniques, recorded forever in the Rokushiki database.

Arlong watched on in indifference and slight annoyance as the blond took care of his brethren, "You know, I am standing right here."

The blond in question simply glanced at him, before turning back to Dr. Nako, "Bellemere-san should be awake soon. Give her some treatment and she should be fine."

"Yes, yes. Thank you!" But just as Dr. Nako was about to move towards her, his way was blocked by Kuroobi.

"I believe Arlong-san has shown enough patience dealing with you. Now, disappear! Hyakumaigawara Seiken! (百枚瓦正拳 – _Hundred Tile True Punch)_"

"Tekkai - Tebusan! (鉄塊- 鉄布杉, _Iron Body – Iron Linen)_"

What was supposed to be the human doctor being killed on the spot turned out to be Kuroobi clutching his fist in agony as he screamed out in pain.

"Gaargh! My hand! My hand!" The bones in his fist were crushed completely, rendering it useless as blood seeped out of his skin.

"That's impossible! Kuroobi's Hyakumaigawara Seiken has never failed before!" Exclaimed the fishman pirates.

This was unreal! A punch that could easily break through one hundred tiles meant nothing to this human? What's more, he supposedly bounced back all that force into Kuroobi's fist as well! How on earth did he do that?

Gritting his teeth, Arlong felt his ire rise, "What is the meaning of this? I had a deal with the Captain in charge of this area. Is this some joke he's trying to pull? Or is he really intent on me destroying his entire base, hm?"

At that, Naruto slowly turned his head around, "You had a _deal_ with the marine in charge…?"

All of a sudden, a huge blast of killing intent descended upon the area, wild and unrestrained, lashing out at anyone that got in its way, sheer mental will being sent right at Arlong, "Do you mean to tell me, that the person supposedly in charge of this area, is letting pirates have their way, because of a _deal_?"

That flare from before had knocked out at least three quarters of his crew, and Arlong himself felt his knees wobbling a bit under the gaze of this man. Those eyes, those sky-blue eyes… _wait…_

"You!" Arlong suddenly gasped as he took a few steps backwards, "It was _you_! You're the guy Tiger-san talked about!"

_Blue eyes, sky-blue eyes with a gaze that could render you helpless with the might of his will. _

"Oh? He told you about me?" Raising an eyebrow, Naruto gave a slight chuckle, "I see that my outfit left deep memories in his mind."

"It wasn't the outfit." Arlong scoffed, "He said your eyes had this fiery will in them, something that scared even him to no end."

"I see." Giving a mindless shrug, the blond moved towards Bellemere, who had just regained consciousness.

"Gaki _(Brat)_? Is that you?"

"Yes." Holding her hand gently, he smiled to her, "Everything is going to be okay."

Just as he was about to turn back, she grasped his hand once more and spoke in a raspy manner, "You know full well that the Tenryuubito have made a contract with the Queen of the Fishmen."

Naruto stayed silent for a bit, before nodding, "Yes, I am aware of that."

"Then you should know that you must let this slide." Her tone was urgent, her arms shaking slightly as she desperately grabbed onto Naruto, as though knowing that the minute she let him go, he'll go on a rampage.

Ever since she saw him in training, she liked the boy. Strong, determined and ready to give his all every single day. A hard worker with talent, a trainee every trainer asked for. He was surprisingly open-minded and polite, unlike a certain punkish teenager who kept smoking every single day, and was a joy to be around. In the years when she was still at the academy, they became really good friends, though she kinda set the bar at the friend stage, since he was always respectful in calling her sensei. But sensei made her feel really old, like fifty years old, so she forced him to call her his buddy.

Naturally, he would never do that, so they settled for friends. Naruto really treated her like an older sister, slightly different from Hina, since Hina was closer to his age. Bellemere had this maternity instinct whenever Naruto was around, for something in the boy's eyes always made her feel that he wasn't getting enough love. It was obvious that the Great Tactician Tsuru-sama saw it too, for she would always give in to his requests, no matter how ridiculous they were. There was once when Naruto bugged her to let him go out to prank someone and after an hour or so, she agreed, but the condition was that she had to find it funny. This was Uzumaki Naruto they were talking about, and the result was obvious. Tsuru laughed hard at it.

One just did not replace Sengoku's seagull with the mini-figure of a naked woman without him noticing! The poor man had no idea why everyone had smirks on their faces when he greeted them during the meeting; half of them were holding their laughter in whereas the other half kept making insinuations that involved his seagull. Why, his seagull was awesome and cool, so naturally, he took the compliments in stride.

That night, he got back to his room, and was about to take off his hat in front of the mirror when he saw the figure. His screams of rage and murder were heard echoing for at least half an hour throughout the entire Mariejois, whilst Naruto was gleefully chuckling with his surrogate grandmother. Like they say, if you're gonna do it, might as well do a good job of it.

_You're one of my precious people, Bellemere-san. I always protect my precious people._

Those were the words that she would never forget. Those words were the reason why she was holding onto him. If he were to injure a fishman right after the contract was made, then the Tenryuubito would definitely turn on him in a heartbeat. It was well known since the academy that Naruto never had much love for the Tenryuubito and because of that, the Tenryuubito had put Naruto on their 'hate' list as well. It was more of the fact that whenever the Tenryuubito called for an escort or for someone to help them enslave someone, Naruto would make sure that the call never reaches Sengoku. Hence, over the years, more than a few Tenryuubito had been injured because of the 'failure' of the Marines. Not that Naruto or even Sengoku really cared to be honest, since the Tenryuubito did nothing but breathe anyway.

Then again, they were _the_ descendants of the twelve Kings, so they still had to protect them to some extent, as unfortunate as that may sound. Normally, one didn't outright proclaim that 'Tenryuubito suck'. Naruto did. It was kind of hard for the Tenryuubito themselves not to hear it when one shouted at the top of his lungs right outside their palace. So all kinds of trouble would follow Naruto wherever he went, but somehow, those troubles were always turned around on them, thereby removing more of those that supported the presence of Tenryuubito in the political ring. The hate between the two certainly grew after that.

Hence, right now, the Tenryuubito had just signed a contract of peace with Otohime, queen of the fishmen and mermen, and Naruto was about to go beat up a fishman right after they signed it. Things weren't looking good for the kid, and Bellemere had to stop him no matter what. She couldn't let him be ruined like this. Such a bright gem of life, waiting to shine and glow, ready to take the world by storm when the time is ripe, but right now, she had to keep him safe. That was her promise to Tsuru-sama and to herself. She was his sensei, and she would be damned if she couldn't even protect her protégé.

"Bellemere-san, how long have you known me?" Naruto asked, amused.

"Naruto, this is no time to be joking around!"

"Have I ever charged in without a plan?" His tone gradually grew silent, as though wanting to reassure Bellemere that everything would be alright, when said female knew that they were nowhere near alright.

"Naruto!"

"Trust me." He smiled, just like he did all those years ago, "You are precious to me, Bellemere-san, and I will protect you no matter where you go."

Sitting there in shock, Bellemere could only watch helplessly as Naruto turned back to Arlong, "Don't do it. Please, Naruto, listen to me! Don't do it!"

Ignoring her cries of anxiety, Naruto continued forth, "Rokushiki Ougi… Sai Dai Rin…_(Six Styles Ultimate Attack – Largest Ring)_"

"No, get away from me!"

"Naruto!"

"Rokuosengan! _(_六王旋銃_ – __Spiraling Gun of the Six Kings)"_

X – X

In Mariejois, it had been six hours since Naruto had dashed off in his Hiraishin, leaving a very worried Tsuru waiting in her office. Kuzan and Borsalino were on duty and Garp was away to see his grandson again. Hina had informed her of the incident in Cocoyashi village, stating that the Marine Officer in that region had given her a call, telling her that some pirates known as the Arlong Pirates were going to attack the village. It wasn't until the end where Hina nonchalantly asked what they looked like that the officer told her they were fishmen.

Instantly understanding the severity of the matter, Hina had left a message to Naruto through his secretary and rushed off to find the great tactician. It took five minutes for Naruto to appear before them, understand the situation and rush off again. Tsuru couldn't even stop and warn him that he mustn't be rash in his decisions but it was to no avail. That kid was just hard-headed when it came to his precious people in danger, not that Tsuru ever complained about it; that was the quality she liked in the boy. But this time, the Tenryuubito had already made it clear, albeit jokingly that the humans and fishmen were to find peace by themselves. How, they didn't care, but the contract they sent to the Marines was that humans and fishmen were not to _be seen_ fighting each other.

Just by the look at the wording within the contract was enough to leave Tsuru shaking her head. This was all just a farce! To think that Queen would actually believe in the Tenryuubito spoke volumes as to how naïve and optimistic she was. It was obvious the Tenryuubito had no intention whatsoever in negotiating with her and was merely using her as a source of entertainment! Heck, they might even assassinate her once they're bored! They didn't care about fishmen and mermen! They cared about whether they're still rich and entertained!

The more Tsuru thought about it, the angrier she got. She was tempted to get the CP9 to assassinate the whole lot of them and be done with it. Then she realized that was exactly what Naruto would have done and couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. Looks like the boy rubbed off on her a bit more than she realized. Unfortunately, even Kalifa, the nice young girl she trusted to look after Naruto had been left behind, not to mention the other CP9 members. Lucci was the only one available whilst the others were on separate missions, far off into the other three seas, with the exception of Jabra, who stayed in the Grand Line.

Lucci was currently working along with Kalifa, ensuring that no one knew of this event. Naruto was not to be seen with a fishman and a suitable alibi was being made up by them. But Tsuru knew that things weren't going to be this simple. This was Naruto they were talking about, not some random rear admiral, but Naruto! That kid always had tricks up his sleeves and no one knew what he was going to do next. Being unpredictable was his trademark, but right now, Tsuru hoped that he would rein in that unpredictability of his and actually cooperate with their plans. She could not and would not let Naruto be harmed.

_Naru-chan… Don't do anything stupid now…_

X – X

It would be two days later before anyone saw Naruto. However, it was not the way anyone expected him to be seen. The Tenryuubito Roswald had arrived at the Marine Headquarters, demanding to find the treacherous marine that had the guts to break their law. Sengoku had been surprised and inquired what this was about, and after hearing the entire thing from Roswald, the supreme commander could do nothing but stroke his beard. It was obvious that all of this was just for show, and all Roswald wanted was to punish Naruto.

At first, Sengoku felt relieved, since Naruto was nowhere to be seen and all he had to do was tell the Tenryuubito that he had no idea where Naruto was and the problem would have to be solved elsewhere. As long as it wasn't with him, he didn't have a problem with it. Seriously, the Tenryuubito come to him for the most ridiculous things. You would think they had to have gotten _some_ good genes from their ancestors but apparently not. Mutations of some sort must have occurred somewhere along the lineage for these generation of them to become such mindless buffoons.

However, his peace and quiet was disrupted as a Vice-admiral rushed into his office to inform him that huge screens were set up outside of the Tenryuubito's palace as well as the Marine Headquarters and that it was supposedly something to do with Naruto. By the time he got there, he saw that Tsuru, Kuzan and Borsalino were already there, with only Sakazuki absent since he was out on a mission. Garp looked unnaturally serious, whereas Tsuru seemed agitated. Usually, it would be the other way round, which led Sengoku to believe that something _really bad_ was going to happen.

At the same time, Hina was seen in Cocoyashi village, where she silently set up the screen for Bellemere. Even though Naruto had told her not to show everyone, she knew that this needed to be done. Originally, only the Tenryuubito were to see what was going to happen next, but Hina and Kalifa discussed it and decided that the Marines had to see it. This was Uzumaki Naruto and this was how he did things. Naturally, they didn't tell Tsuru, since Naruto had warned them that if Tsuru were to find out beforehand, then they would more than likely be stopped.

"What is the meaning of this?" Roswald inquired as he frowned. This was not what he intended to do. He was supposed to be enjoying a walk on his new slave ride, before going to auction a few more slaves for himself and then enjoy afternoon tea, not wait in this crowd of commoners!

"Hey look! It's starting!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Whoa, what's with all those bubbles?"

"Look! It's Naruto-san!"

Tsuru was biting her lip as Sengoku leaned forward to ask, "What is going on?"

"Naru-chan is going to let the Tenryuubito get what they wanted."

"I'm not following you." Confused by her answer, Sengoku turned to the admirals, to which both of them gave similar shakes of the head.

Looking back at the screen, sure enough, there was Uzumaki Naruto, standing solemnly before what appeared to be a huge crowd of fishmen. At the very middle, sat a worried looking Otohime with her husband Neptune by her side. Her newborn Shirahoshi was giggling happily in her arms, excited to be outside for once.

"That's Fishman Island!"

"Holy cow! How is he standing there without any air bubbles?"

"Is he a fishman?"

"Haki maybe?"

"Who cares? It's awesome! Now shut up and let me watch!"

The camera then focused onto a beat up and battered Arlong, wheezing on the ground beside him, before focusing back on Naruto.

"Otohime-dono, I understand that a contract was signed between you and the Tenryuubito a few days ago. Would you mind reiterating what was said on that contract?"

The first words of Naruto echoed throughout the area, loud and clear, instantly drawing the attention of all those present. In Cocoyashi village, Bellemere-san lay in bed with Genzo and Dr. Nako accompanying her. Nami and Nojiko were cuddling with her on the bed, watching with curious eyes.

In fact, all over the world, countries and cities, as well as the famed Sabaody Archipelago were having a live broadcast of this event.

"Naruto-kun, I – "

"Otohime-dono, the contract."

"… Very well then. It said "We, the Tenryuubito, hereby agree to thy request that Fishmen and Humans live happily together, without conflict. They are not to be seen fighting each other anytime, anyplace, in any form or manner. Should this agreement be broken, then either side has the right to punish the entire race in an appropriate way. Signed, Tenryuubito Roswald."

On the other side, said Tenryuubito was seen adjusting his sunglasses with a sense of superiority, as though that contract showed his wisdom and far-sight. Sengoku, having first heard the contract, could only sigh and lower his cap. This was stupidity on the lowest level. A three year old could tell that all the Tenryuubito wanted was to punish the fishmen whenever they felt like it. All they had to do was to provoke the fishmen into attacking a human and then punish the entire fishmen race by enslaving them and that would be the end of every single fishmen. What was that Otohime thinking?

"I see. Well, I'm afraid I have bad news for you, Otohime-dono. Two days ago, this fishman right here," pointing down to the half-dead Arlong, Naruto continued, "launched an assault on a village in the East Blue. My sensei from the academy lived there, and during the assault, she was shot while trying to protect her two daughters." His tone was calm and collected, but if one were to listen closely, there was still an undercurrent of rage hidden within.

"In a fit of anger, I decided to take it out on his crew. You see, I always remember those who helped me, and I treat them as my precious people. I get very annoyed and irritated when people fail to realize that. So, I beat him up." Naruto gave a satisfied nod even as the fishmen around him started yelling vulgarities at him, some even wanting to execute him on the spot.

It was expected. Someone beat up a fishman and brought that fishman back to Fishman Island, just to tell everyone that he had beat up one of their kind? What, was he trying to show off? The nerve of this guy!

King Neptune however, shook his head in regret and sighed, whereas Otohime looked extremely sad. Only Arlong's brother, young Hody Jones, was ranting and raving about why humans are not to be trusted and that all of Otohime's efforts were futile.

The Marines on the other side were confused as to the actions of Naruto. What was the point of all this?

Sensing that the tension in the water was getting to the climax, Naruto released a huge shockwave of Haki, silencing the fishmen in one go, thoroughly getting his attention as he went on, "According to that contract, I broke the law, isn't that right, Otohime-dono?"

At that, both the fishmen and the marines were confused. Wait, he was _admitting_ that he broke the law? Wasn't he bragging about it a few minutes ago?

"Y-yes… yes you did…" Tears were starting to build in her eyes as she stared at the young man before her. The courage he possessed and the willingness of him to organize this whole thing only served to move her to no end. To think a human would actually volunteer to help her! A human! Her hard work was finally paying off!

This young man had appeared a day ago, and barged into the palace, urgently demanding to see the Queen of the Fishmen. The guards were unable to stop him and Otohime, being the kind Queen that she was, instantly agreed to meet with him. It was amazing to see him walk around in the water as though he was a fishman, but the truth was that he was just a normal human. What happened next was one of the most pleasant and unpleasant conversations she had to have. Pleasant in that she got to meet this wonderful young man, understand his ideals and know that he believed in hers as well. Unpleasant in that she agreed to do something that would go against her conscience for the rest of her life.

The fortune-teller, Shirley, had rushed into the palace, wanting to warn the Queen of a vision she just had, involving a bloody human standing amidst a crowd of fishmen right here before the palace, only to find said human chatting amiably with the Queen as they walked down the stairs. Before she could freak out, the situation was explained to her and she too was dumbfounded. The plan they had in mind was perfect, in fact, it seemed to side the fishmen more than anything and she instantly asked what the blond wanted in return. The blond laughed and replied that it was the exact same question Otohime asked.

"Since I broke the law, an _appropriate_ punishment must be given to me, is that correct?"

"Y-yes… Y-yes i-it is." Sniffles could be heard from the Queen, putting even more fishmen into confusion. Why was their Queen sad that this human was going to be punished?

"Very well. Jinbe-san!" Naruto slowly shed his jacket and shirt, leaving his upper torso bared for all to see. A lithe body consisting of supple muscles brimming with energy came into view.

A whaleshark Fishman, the latest addition to the Shichibukai, Fishman Jinbe, came onto the camera. It was well-known that he used to be the Captain of the Sun Pirates after Fisher Tiger died, but recently, due to Otohime's contract with the World Government, decided to keep his kinsmen safe by joining as a Shichibukai. There he met Naruto, and just like all the others, he thought of the young man as a fun and respectable individual. When he heard of this plan, he could only shake his head. It took Naruto two whole hours to convince Jinbe that it was for the 'greater' good.

"Till this day, you are the captain of the Sun pirates. This Arlong here, used to be a part of the Sun pirates. Hence, I believe it is fitting for you to give me the punishment I deserve." Smiling slightly, Naruto gave a nod, even as a reluctant Jinbe stood forth.

In a crisp voice, Jinbe spoke up, much to the anticipation of all the viewers, "Normally, such an act can only be justified by death, for us Fishman pirates had a pact, that if any of us were to die, the rest would definitely avenge him." Pausing slightly as the cheers of the fishmen roared through the area, Jinbe cleared his throat, signaling to the audience that he wasn't finished.

"However, with respect to our beloved Otohime's contract, I shall give this human a chance!" gesturing towards Naruto, he went on, "Us Fishman specialize in a special form of combat, known as _Gyojin Karate_ (_Fishman Karate)_. This," He took up a stance, and aimed at a rock wall nearby, "is a Senmaigawara Seiken! _(Thousand Tile True Punch)_"

With a fling of his fist, the rock wall was erased to nothingness in the blink of an eye. The cheers of the surrounding fishmen rose to a new height, whereas the Marines on the other side were getting nervous. In all honesty, there wasn't _any_ marine in Mariejois that didn't know about Uzumaki Naruto, nor was there any marine that had not been helped by Naruto before. The guy was just… such a nice guy, as cliché as that sounded. He would always lend a helping hand, no matter who it was, without asking for anything in return, so Naruto was pretty famous in Mariejois. Everyone liked him and wherever he went, laughter would soon ensue following his arrival. He was just… such a fun guy to be around with.

Now, on this screen, they were about to see that nice and fun guy be hit with that? How could they be fine with it? Hence, it wasn't long before the Marines started booing and raving as well. Sengoku had at first tried to stop it, but then simply gave up. He knew of Naruto's status within the Marines and the pull he had on pretty much everyone. It was pointless to stop this riot. Kuzan simply closed his eyes and left the area, whereas Borsalino muttered 'ara, ara' as he averted his gaze. Tsuru however, seemed to get calmer as things progressed, though Sengoku was sure that she must be filled with turmoil on the inside. Everyone in the marines knew that if you get on Naruto's bad side, you get on Tsuru's bad side, and you did not want the Great Tactician to think of you as a nuisance. That's a one way ticket out of the Marines.

Jinbe finally silenced the crowd, before taking up another stance, "This, holds five times the power of the punch before, the Gosenmaigawara Seiken! _(Five Thousand Tile True Punch)"_. A similar exhibition was given, pushing the rowdy atmosphere to an even higher ceiling.

"What I am about to challenge you to, Uzumaki Naruto, is to withstand ten punches of this! The Samegawara Seiken! (鮫瓦正拳 - _Shark Tile True Fist)_" It was obvious that the power behind this punch was way stronger than even the Gosenmaigawara Seiken. The underlying meaning was obvious. One punch from this would be enough to kill a normal human being ten times over. Was Naruto going to accept the challenge as a human?

Sighing, Naruto gave a helpless shrug, "Dang, that's strong. Ah well, since I broke the law, there's nothing I can do other than to take it like a man eh? I say bring it!" That grin on his face that moment will forever be remembered by every single Marine that saw it that day. That came to be known as Naruto's 'Killer Grin'.

"He's actually going to take it?"

"Whoa, but that's going to kill him!"

"No you doofus, Naruto-san is head of CP9! He knows the Rokushiki skill Tekkai! He'll be fine!"

"OH! I see! Clever!"

At that moment, as if to rebut this particular conversation, Naruto held out two kunais. The fishmen and the marines both stopped their chattering to see what he was doing. It was ironic that the presence of Naruto was able to attract the attention of every single fishmen present, despite the fact that the fishmen hated humans.

"I know what you guys are thinking. Why would I agree to being hit just like that? I must have some sort of trick. Well it is simple. I know how to harden my body to the extent where those punches won't even hurt. _Tekkai: Gou! (Iron Body: Steel)_." Holding the Kunai in a reverse grip, he stabbed one into himself, only for it to bounce away harmlessly.

"See? Easy as pie. But!" Silencing the fishmen with a wave, he continued, "That would be cheating now, won't it? We can't have that! This is a proper punishment! So, I hereby swear, on my honour as a human being, that I will _not_ activate any defensive measure during the course of this punishment. Whatever injuries I get from this is mere testament to how true and serious this punishment is! I have no regrets for my actions and will face this punishment head on! May my blood pave my determination and prove my worth!"

Grabbing the kunais, he plunged them into his left and right shoulders, with blood instantly spurting out of his body, proving that indeed, he did not activate any form of defensive mechanism.

The moment the blood was seen, the crowds were in a frenzy, with the fishmen excited to see what would happen next and the marines shocked to see what was happening. Why was he throwing away his defense mechanism? What was he trying to prove?

"Ten punches! Come on Jinbe-san! Let's get this over with!" With an encouraging nod, plus that grin on his face, Naruto beckoned the sharkman towards him.

Otohime was seen attempting to stop this, but her husband was able to rein her in. They both knew that this had to be done, for Naruto to gain trust for his next step. No matter how cruel this was, for the sake of their kind, they had to be selfish this once.

"Alright. Naruto-kun, the first punch is coming. Hah! Samegawara Seiken!" Sending forth a powerful straight punch, Jinbe's fist collided strongly with Naruto's bare torso, with shockwaves coursing through his entire body, eliciting a huge amount of blood being coughed up as the punch connected, sending the blond reeling backwards from the insane strength of the attack.

Barely standing his ground, Naruto gritted his teeth and kept himself conscious with a quick spark of chakra around his brain. With his natural defenses, including his chakra and Haki off, that punch really, _really_ hurt. Before he could say anything, Jinbe was already on him, "The second punch!"

Just like before, the sheer force behind his fist easily penetrated his ribs, hurting his internal organs, eliciting a spurt of blood once again. Two punches only and he felt like he was about to fall apart. Such was the strength of Jinbe, one of the strongest fishman in the entire world.

"Third punch!"

"Fourth!"

"Fifth!"

"Sixth!"

"Seventh!"

"Eighth!"

"Ninth!"

By then, even some of the fishmen could hardly watch anymore. Simply put, it was too bloody. Just like Shirley's vision, a young man with blond hair was standing in the midst of a crowd of fishmen, his entire body covered in blood. He simply stood there, like a statue, his upper torso trembling as his muscles bulged, struggling to cope with the pain and agony that was going through him at the moment.

"The tenth and final punch! Hargh!"

With that one final attack, Uzumaki Naruto was sent flying backwards, his legs no longer able to withstand the force, ending up with him crashing through an entire rock cliff, with him ending up on the other side. Lying spread eagle on the ground, no movement was observed from the fallen blond.

Panting slightly, Jinbe slowly withdrew from his stance and gave a respectful bow in Naruto's direction.

_Naruto-kun, you are truly a respectable individual. I, Jinbe, will never forget what you have done for us today!_

Hody Jones was the first to yell, "Hey! The human is dead! Let's all celebrate! Hahaha!" Only to find the others being eerily silent. None of them seemed to be happy as far as Hody could tell.

"What's the matter? The human was punished! We should be rejoicing! Why are you all so upset?" Slowly, the anger within him started to build, "He beat up one of us! He deserves this!"

Again no answer. Everyone could only remember that young man, standing straight throughout every single punch. Those who have seen Jinbe in action knew that the man did not pull his punches. Every single hit was hit with his entire might. All those blood they saw was real. One simply did not and could not fake that.

"What is wrong with all of you? Cheer damn it! Cheer like we did just now!" Hody's snarls reverberated through the area, only to get a few half-hearted cheers in return.

Silence permeated through the area, until Otohime finally couldn't stand it and shouted, "Don't you get it, Hody Jones? This is not what we want! That man just took ten punches from Jinbe-san! _The_ Jinbe-san! The strongest fishman we have! He took it straight on, without any defense! He! A human! Without any of our natural defenses and strength! He took all of them, and bled! For us! To prove to us that he is _willing_ to be punished for something he felt he did _wrong_! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Her words were like a roar to the fishmen, sending them all reeling back in shock. This human…? This human felt that… it was… _wrong_ to hurt fishmen?

"Look at all that blood! Are you telling me that he faked it? Who are you all lying to? To him or to yourselves?"

He… he took all that because he wanted a punishment? To prove that he was indeed sorry for what he had done?

Amidst all the chaos and confusion as the fishmen tried to get a hold of their bearings, the marines on the others side were working up a frenzy.

"Oh my god! He' still alive!"

"Look! Look! He's getting up!"

"I knew it! I knew Naruto-san wouldn't go down that easily!"

"Yes! Thank goodness he's alive!"

Just like they said, it took a few minutes, but eventually, Naruto was able to recover somewhat from the damage he had taken. Having Kyuubi extracted from him hurt way more than this, but still, he hadn't experienced such pain in quite a while. Finally regaining his breath, Naruto stood up slowly, making sure he got his balance, before trudging back towards the fishman crowd.

_Naru-chan, you idiot. _Tsuru could only smile as she watched her surrogate grandson make his way back to the crowd. It was clear now what he was going to do next.

_That baka. Look at all that blood. _Hina grumbled internally as she watched alongside Bellemere. _Look at what he did to Bellemere-san! He made her cry! Hina is disappointed, very disappointed._

_Naruto-sama…_ Kalifa and Lucci watched on silently, observing their leader as he took each step. Their respect for him was always high, but this was proof that he did deserve their respect. They never questioned whether or not he would be willing to do something like this because they knew he would do it. He had told them from day one, that the moment the new CP9 was born, was when this family was born.

_We are the new CP9! Each and every one of you is now part of this new family! No matter what happens, always remember, that your family is waiting for your return. Now come on! Family hug! _

For Lucci, as an orphan, that was probably the best thing that could happen to him. He learned how to accept love and how to love others in return. Missions were no longer solo and boring, but paired with his family and were fun. Rivalry between him and Jabra became even deeper since the two spent so much time together. Laughter would be heard everywhere and his heart was at peace. He didn't need to prove anything anymore, because he had a family now. He needed to learn how to protect them now. This was what his leader, his father, and his brother taught him.

_When you find those people precious to you, you will understand what I tell you today. You will definitely know who they are, because you will find yourself willing to risk you own damn neck and charge into the craziest situations ever, just so that you can ensure that those precious to you will stay safe. _

Staring at the bloody figure that was standing in front of the fishmen, Lucci had a small smile on his face as he left the room, leaving only Kalifa gazing intently at the television. He needed to see no more. His boss would get the job done, just like he always did. It was time for him to go check up on a certain woman in Alabasta. Boss would want her safe and sound.

Panting slightly, Naruto took in a deep breath, oblivious to the uproar that was currently happening back at Mariejois, and spoke in a quiet voice, "I believe I said before, that I accept any punishment that was to be given to me. Otohime, did I abide by the rules on the contract?"

The queen was sobbing up a storm in her seat even as she hugged her precious baby to herself, "Yes! Yes! You have! Oh Naruto-kun!"

"Then that is enough." Huffing, Naruto slowly plucked the kunai stuck in his shoulders out, causing more blood to pour out from his wounds, "I guess I kinda pushed it this time round. That is a _lot_ of blood." Grinning weakly, Naruto steadied himself, before turning to the fishmen.

"Unfortunately, the contract held by your queen is a one-time contract." If anything, that grin on his face widened.

"Huh? One-time contract? What's that mean?" Asked a fishman.

"Don't look at me, I have no idea what he's talking about."

As for the marines, they had the same question in mind.

"One-time? You can make one-time contracts?"

"But why would the Tenryuubito do that? That's just…"

"Stupid." By this time, Tsuru had a triumphant smile on her face as she muttered the word.

Beside her, Tenryuubito Roswald was seen grinding his teeth together as he tried to hide his embarrassment. To think that he would have used _that_ seal on the contract! It wasn't common knowledge but Roswald and the other Tenryuubito had asked Sengoku for a special type of seal that would allow them to make certain contracts a one-time thing. Contracts such as 'Let's a make a new holiday this month' or 'Let's have an extra meal tonight'. Yes, they call that 'contracts'. Why? Because the contracts involve thousands of other people working just to provide them that extra holiday or meal. Since they used that seal so much, even with this particular contract, Roswald simply used the seal without even thinking about it.

Sengoku could only shake his head, "Well, at least something came of this stupidity I guess."

"Gahahaha! That's awesome! I knew the boy was a sharp one! Gahahaha!" The Vice-admiral with fists of love guffawed beside the supreme commander.

"Garp, you picked him up because you were bored. You didn't know anything."

"Gahaha! That's true too!"

"Sigh…"

Looking back at Naruto, he could be seen tearing the contract to pieces, "As such! This contract is no longer usable!"

Mutters began to break out in both marines and fishmen. What was going to happen next then? If all the stuff from before was simply to tear up the contract, then…

"However! I have with me_ this_ seal! Used by the Supreme Commander Sengoku as well as the famed vice-admiral, the Great Tactician Tsuru of the Marine Headquarters, and representatives of the World Government, the _Royal_ _Seal!_ With this seal, it would be the same as the World Government themselves in person, and any contract with this seal on it would be forever binding for both sides, for better or for worse."

With a smile, he gave a deep bow, before holding his hand out to Otohime, "My dear Queen of the fishmen, would you be interested in signing a new peace treaty between the fishmen and us humans? I assure you the conditions will be much clearer and more meaningful this time around."

Placing both hands around her mouth, Otohime had to hold back her sobs as she cried out, "Yes! Yes I would be honored to sign this peace treaty!"

As she took her step towards Naruto, realization finally dawned on the fishmen and marines and before long, cheers of joy were heard all throughout the world. Yes, not just in Fishman Island or the Mariejois, but the entire world who was watching this moment. It was a monumental moment, for something incredible was about to be achieved. For years, fishmen and mermen were never part of the human society, meaning it was much harder for them to find jobs and support themselves and their family. Fishman Island was only so big and it meant that there had to be fishmen out in the world that suffered due to prejudices and hatred.

But with this new peace treaty, that hatred just might be lifted. It won't be gone completely, because there will always be individuals who cannot accept this fact, but as a whole, the entire situation will be much better than before. Now, it proved that the fishmen and mermen were just like a normal human being, one of them. With this seal on the new treaty, it would mean equal opportunities for everyone! Human beings will be allowed to interact with fishmen and mermen as well! Both sides will benefit and overall, it was a win-win situation!

Hence, it wasn't with much surprise that the entire world was cheering!

Come on, a young man just orchestrated this entire thing by himself so as to defeat the Tenryuubito politically before helping secure the entire future of a different race! Whether you like it or not, you had to admit that it was impressive! No one had ever thought of doing something like this, but this kid did it!

Friends of Naruto all over the world were either laughing their hearts out or grinning as they drank to this incredible little fella. Pirate crews with fishmen as a part of them were rejoicing since they would never have to worry for their comrade being captured as a slave ever again. Mermen could now swim freely in the seas with much less worry of being caught! No more mermen or fishmen slaves will ever appear on Sabaody Archipelago again!

However, it was at this moment, just as Otohime was about to put her pen on the paper, when a gunshot was heard.

Before anyone could react, Naruto was seen pulling Otohime into his arms, shielding her with his back completely exposed. For the umpteenth time that night, blood spurted out of his torso, eliciting a painful gasp from the seventeen year old.

"Who is it?"

"Who fired that?"

"He's over there! Get him!"

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Otohime asked in an urgent tone, just as Jinbe came over to support him as well. The Shichibukai knew full well that Naruto had no time to activate any defenses of his since he had to use that Shunpo (瞬歩 – _Flash Step_) of his to get to Otohime in time. His reaction time was truly amazing, and the relief he felt in his heart could not be described by mere words. Why, if he had been half a second later, Otohime would have…

He couldn't even bear to think of such a terrible thought. She was their beloved queen, caring for them on a level that they couldn't even possibly begin to imagine.

"We got him! It's Hody Jones!"

"That bastard! How dare he aim at our Otohime!"

Dragging the culprit to the front, they tossed him before Otohime, all tied up and stripped of all weapons.

"Keh! Stupid bitch! I can't believe you would sign that thing!" Hody attempted to spit at Otohime but was stopped by the surrounding fishmen.

To everyone's surprise, it wasn't the queen who answered, but rather, Naruto.

"You know. I once knew someone like you. He hated everything and anything that stood between him and his ambition. He believed everyone was beneath him because he was born superior. He had a strong family with incredible ties to the entire village I came from. He was treated like a lord whereas I was treated like a common beggar. We were allocated to the same team and trained together, we even used to be friends. But one day, he just got misguided and began his path of vengeance, using hatred as his only source of power."

Staring at Hody, he continued, "I won't explain any big theories to you on why we did this today. It's plain and simple. Fishmen, mermen, humans, whatever. We were all born under the same sky, at different times and places, with different features and body parts, but so what? We all have different abilities. Not all fishmen are stronger than humans when they are first born! They had to train themselves hard! You think Jinbe could have made me bleed like this if he didn't bother training? Don't make me laugh! Being a fishman does not make you any different from any other human being!"

"We are one! We are born, we grow up, we have our families, we make friends, we find loved ones, we find soulmates, we reproduce and the cycle repeats itself! So tell me! What is so different about fishmen, mermen and humans? Huh? Tell me! What do you guys do that we don't? So what if you can live in water? We can live on land! Big deal! So what if you can dive deep into the seas thousands of metres below sea level? We humans can fly thousands of metres above sea level! Don't you see? If we were to combine our knowledge, our strengths and put our differences aside, we would be so much stronger! Everything would move much faster for both races, where we will continue to improve ourselves!"

"We cannot simply depend on the same things to happen for us to evolve. We need fresh events, fresh things, and fresh ideas! Where else can we find them but from a race so close to us? Why can't we listen to each other's appeals if all it takes is time? It's not like we speak different languages right? You're going to let pride get in your way of making friends? Really? Pride? How much is pride worth damn it? Is it worth you losing your life over? Is it worth making your families suffer over? IS IT?"

Shell-shocked by his words, the fishmen could only watch on speechless as Naruto continued. Otohime was trembling with sobs throughout the speech whereas people all over the world watched on silently as this young man spoke words that weren't new, but now held a different meaning.

"Why don't you guys ask each other why the heck you hate him or her? What is the point of hating people if the only reason is that they're different? Being different isn't a sin! Being different is a quality you hold over the rest of the people! There is no one in this world that is exactly the same as someone else. Every single one of us is unique. This is a very simple thing to understand! We are our own people, we are ourselves, and we should not and will not deny that fact!"

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto continued, "Look at your Queen. Look at how happy she is that she's finally gotten this treaty set. Do you know who she's doing it for? It's for you! All of you! Not just the fishmen here today, but every single fishmen out there! She wants a better world for all you people! That's right! People! You fishmen are part of the society as well and you are people! Not some other different term, PEOPLE damn it! With such a queen wanting to help make your lives better, why are you trying so hard to hold yourselves and your queen back? Is it fun to watch her suffer so? She is spending time that is supposed to be used on doting her sons and newborn daughter, not to be wasted on begging you to make your own lives better! Don't you feel any guilt?"

"Naruto-kun *sob* that's enough. I am the Queen after all. I have my role to play beside my husband. *Sniff* For the sake of my brethren, I will gladly spend time for them!" Through tears, Otohime yelled out those words with all her might, before collapsing into a sob.

"Did you hear that? Your Queen is willing to support you through thick and thin! Now, the question is whether you are willing to support yourself!"

"Otohime-sama!"

"We're so sorry, Otohime-sama!"

"Thank you for all you've done!"

"We will never forget the sacrifices you've made!"

"Otohime-sama banzai!"

"What? I can't hear you people! Louder damn it! This is _your_ Queen! Doesn't she deserve a better ovation?"

"BANZAI!"

"OTOHIME-SAMA! WE LOVE YOU!"

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

"Minna _(everyone)_, oh, I'm so happy!" Otohime bawled as she waved back at all her kinsmen. For once, the residents of Fishman Island seemed so united, ready to face any dangers that might come their way. This was something she had been working for all her life, and to see it finally happen was enough to bring her to tears.

The fact that she had never cried harder in her life was testament to how moved she was.

"Here, Otohime-sama." Naruto appeared in front of her, formally giving her a bow, before he kneeled on one leg, "Please accept this treaty as a formal apology from the World Government, for the pain and suffering they've put you through. From now on, humans and fishmen are equals, brothers, sisters, and family. Congratulations."

It was that same grin again on his face, and Otohime couldn't help but give him a strong hug, almost to the point where she felt her arms would break, but Naruto stopped her before that could happen.

"Please, tell me your wish. I promised you one wish before this. Anything, anything at all." Her teary eyes gazed at him gratefully, wanting to find some way to repay him.

Amongst the cheers of the fishmen, Naruto smiled childishly, "I wanna be an honorary Fishman!"

That declaration stunned the entire crowd to silence, none of them able to comprehend what he just said.

Otohime blinked once, before asking, "That's it?"

"Yeah! I mean you guys are so cool! Wouldn't it be awesome if I could come and hang out with you guys whenever I've got the time! I need to brush up on my swimming skills too! I mean what kind of a Marine am I if I can't even swim properly? Hey, why are you laughing? What's so funny? I'm serious! Hey! Why are you guys laughing too? Hey! I'm not getting the joke here!"

Throughout the world, all those watching the television were laughing to their hearts content. This was just too funny. Even Bellemere, who had been crying a lake a minute ago was guffawing at the brat's idiocy. What kind of a man plans something like this for something so simple! Gawd, how pure was the boy?

Tsuru could only give a helpless smile as she shook her head. He was only seventeen after all. There was plenty of time for him to grow.

Sengoku on the other hand, turned to Tenryuubito Roswald, "I believe this is settled then. It is extremely unfortunate but I have to remind you that any fishmen and mermen that are currently acting as slaves within your palace will probably have been gone by now. The CP9 aren't really known for being slow, you see."

"What? This is preposterous! Blasphemy! How could you let him do this? You're the supreme commander! Get him to destroy that treaty!" To say Roswald was angry would be an understatement.

"I'm afraid that is not possible. You see, that Royal Seal he had is forever binding. To destroy that treaty would mean disrespect to not only the World Government but your ancestors. I'm sure you do not want your ancestors and yourselves to be viewed as horrible liars now, would you?" To say Sengoku was smug would be a _severe_ understatement.

"… N-No… no, I wouldn't." It was obvious that the Tenryuubito had another answer in mind.

"Gahahaha! Damn right you wouldn't! Now get your ass outta here! Us lowly marines have a bit of celebrating to do!" Chortling merrily, the vice-admiral left a fuming Tenryuubito standing by himself as the marines around him cheered over and over again. It was as though that Uzumaki had planned this all along! Despicable brat! He shall pay! Oh he shall pay!

"Oh Garp, did you have to antagonize the poor man? Why, it almost seemed like you were laughing at him!" Borsalino drawled as he drew in step beside the vice-admiral.

"Feh! I never liked that guy."

"Garp, remember you post as a Marine."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Speaking of which, I think Naru-chan deserves a promotion for this, wouldn't you agree?"

"Hoho! You old bat, look at you! That smile on your face could light up a million light bulbs!"

"Just for today, I'll pretend I can't hear you."

"Gahaha!"

"I think I agree with that statement. The kid deserves something for accomplishing this." It would seem Kuzan returned, if that smile on his face was any indication, he heard that last bit too.

"Hm, given how he is a bit immature, I think he's only good for vice-admiral so far. Any objections?"

"Gaha! No!"

"That would be wonderful."

"Sweet, I can dump all my work on him."

"Joy, oh joy."

X – X

Feeling a shiver creep up his spine, Naruto looked around suspiciously, wondering what it was that made him feel such unease.

"As of today, Uzumaki Naruto, will become one of us, as an honorary fishman! Everyone, say hello to your new comrade!"

"WOOHOO!"

"YEAH!"

"WELCOME UZUMAKI-SAN!"

"Heh heh, you didn't have to make such a big fuss about it." Naruto rubbed his nose sheepishly.

"Of course we have to. You're our savior! You helped us so much! This doesn't even begin to repay what you've done for us!"

"Alright, then what say you let me come visit little Shirahoshi whenever I'm free? Aw, you little cutie, don't worry, I'll make your mum agree if that's the last thing I do!" About to make a cool posture, it was then when he finally felt the injuries get to him.

"Don't push yourself too much Naruto-kun. You're running on pure adrenaline now, but that is about to fade." Jinbe shook his head as he helped the young man up, "Let's get you back on land where they can treat you properly."

"Awwww, but, but, little Shirahoshi!" The longing in his face was apparent and Otohime chuckled gaily, "You're free to visit her anytime you want! How's that sound Naruto-kun!"

"That would be _awesome_! Thanks! Oh but I wouldn't want to intrude and stuff."

"No, no, it would be a pleasure! Wouldn't it, dear?"

"Yes, feel free to visit us any time." Neptune answered with an endearing smile on his face. He had stayed silent throughout most of the events just now because he felt that this moment belonged to Otohime. His wife worked so hard for this moment that it simply wouldn't feel right for him to speak up. It was the Queen of Fishman Island that they looked up to for this, and he will not take that glory away from his beloved.

"Sweet as! Alright! I'll see you guys sometime then! Bye bye!" And with that, he fell unconscious, into an exasperated Jinbe's arms.

"I'll bring him back to Mariejois. Your Majesty, your highness, please take care. As for Hody Jones and Arlong… I'll take care of them when I get back."

"Thank you Jinbe. You were extremely helpful and supportive throughout this entire ordeal, and I need to thank you – "

"No, my Queen, I need to thank _you_. All you ever wanted was for us to live better lives and without your hard work and determination, this would never have happened." Jinbe gave a quick bow, and left the palace.

While he knew that Naruto wouldn't die from these injuries, it still wasn't right to leave him injured for so long.

"Oh darling, I just feel so happy today!"

"And you should! You have just accomplished something none of us has ever dreamed could come true. I'm proud of you sweetheart."

"Thank you, dear. Thank you so much. I know I haven't spent enough time with you and the children lately, but trust me, I'll make it up to you, all of you!"

"Haha, I'll take you up on that offer. I've been feeling quite lonely lately, and the boys were grumbling that their mother seems to dote only on their little sister."

"Oh! Why, I never expected them to get jealous! Looks like I need to show them some motherly love!"

"That would be wonderful dear. You have all the time in the world."

"Yes… Yes, I do, don't I?"

All the time in the world.

* * *

_**Okay, this has gone on way longer than I expected. 12k words! What the hell! I intended to stop at 6k! Gawd, I've been working on this for the past 5 hours! Rage rage rage! Ah well, at least I got it out. This is like a pre-fishman arc. Hope you liked it. Don't worry about Nami losing her drive. Her witnessing this whole event was a means to tell her something. In fact, this whole event could be used as a driving force for any character. It wasn't really limited to pure fishmen human racism, but really it talked about the general hardships in life. **_

_**The only thing I regret was not putting more fighting in there, but don't worry, those will come in time. I tried to make this treaty thing realistic by making Tenryuubito morons (at least I think they are), so hopefully it came out alright. I think it's pretty possible really, but that's just me. And please, just don't nag me on any politics and stuff like how that shouldn't happen and blah blah blah. This has happened. Already. It's done. I can't and won't undo it. There. **_

_**Alright, that being said, please review. I would like to know if you guys enjoyed it so that I can decide what else to change with the world, because after all, it's a whole new world! =P**_


	5. So it Begins

_**A/N: Yeah, finally had time to write this. Had a couple of tests and assignments to finish this week. Exams start Nov, so sigh… Ah well, I'll still update every now and then, but don't expect any 2 day updates until the 20**__**th**__** of Nov. Good to see the reception last chapter got me, heh heh. Yeah it was awesome, I know, I liked it too. =P**_

_**Well without further ado, next chapter coming up. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or One Piece (or Persona or Nurarihyon no Mago, if those come up in the fic somewhere)**_

A Whole New World

Chapter 4: So it Begins

"Man, Shakky, can you believe that? She wants me, _me_, to get married already! What the heck is up with that?"

"Haha, you are at that age after all. It is the wish of all grandmas to hug their grandchildren before they die." The slim woman with short black hair laughed as she lit her cigarette.

"That age? Since when was 23 the age to get married?" The blond raged hard as he tried to get the logic behind this, "Shouldn't grandmas want their grandchildren to stay pure and childish so that they can have fun with them whenever?"

"Ara ara, seems like you're really against this."

"Of course I am! Gawd, you should see some of the women she's trying to get me to know. She even got a Tenryuubito to come see me."

"Ara ma." Completely without a hint of sympathy for his situation Shakky simply smiled as she watched the young man fret over his 'worries'.

"I'm a damn vice-admiral, with a whole lot of crap to do every day! She should know that! I need some free time!"

"Of course you do, which is why she's trying to get you married, so that you can release all that stress you have in you right now."

"You're having fun with this aren't you?" Grumbled the blond as he sat back down at the bar.

"Well of course I am. Look at that red face of yours. Naruto-chan, there are many people out there who would die to be in your position."

"Yes, I wouldn't mind. They can have it."

"You're famous, handsome and rich! Who ever heard of a guy like you rejecting beautiful girls? Even the shyest of them would have broken by now, but yet you stay strong. What is your secret?"

"My secret is that I rather find the one I love myself, thank you very much."

"Oh? Like that mermaid princess?"

"WHAT?"

"You have been going there quite often lately, is that the reason?"

"Shakky, she's 10." A deadpan was sent her way.

"Yeah, and? Her size fits you perfectly right?"

"Which means by the time she grows up, she'll be fifty times my size." Another deadpan.

"Ara ara, are you calling a girl fat now?"

"HOW DID YOU EVEN GET TO THAT RANDOM CONCLUSION?"

"Haha, now, now, calm down Naruto-chan."

"Sigh, I guess I better get going, or else Tsuru-baa will be getting Kalifa to kick my ass or something. No wait, she's on that mission in Water Seven or something. Man it feels weird without her around." Shaking his head, Naruto reached into his pocket, "So how much for the beer?"

"One hundred thousand Beri."

"Really? Wasn't it two hundred thousand before?"

"No, no, it was four hundred thousand."

"I see, I see, well here's eight hundred thousand – "

"I don't think that's how you do it, Naruto-sama." A young woman with long blonde hair walked into the bar, adjusting her glasses as she spoke with a small smile on her face, "It's good to hear that you miss me too."

"What the…? Kalifa!" Eyes widening, the youngest vice-admiral in Marine history stepped forth and gave her a bear hug, "Of course I did! How come you're here? Weren't you in Water Seven?"

"I was." Sinking into the warmth of the embrace, Kalifa replied smoothly, "But today's my day off, and I had direct orders from Tsuru-sama to escort you to Amazon Lily."

"… I knew that grandma had something up her sleeves!" Grumbled Naruto.

"Aww, look at the two of you, all cute and snuggly!"

"Eh?"

"Ah! No, t-this i-isn't what it l-looks like! I-I hold nothing b-but r-respect for Naruto-s-sama!" Instantly disentangling herself from her boss, Kalifa stuttered as she tried to regain her composure. That huge blush on her cheeks gave her away but as usual, Naruto didn't notice.

"You're just so fun to tease, Kalifa-chan." Laughing, Shakky took one note from the stack that Naruto left on the bar and threw the rest back at him, "Alright get going. Go find your lover girl."

"Holy crap! Did you only take one hundred beri from me?"

"Well, you_ are_ a regular after all." Smiling softly, Shakky gave him a short pat on the head, "Besides, the scene I saw just now was more than enough payment. You take good care of this little cutey, you hear me?"

"M-mo, Shakky-san!" That blush just got even redder.

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto chuckled nervously, "Oookay, you're starting to sound like Tsuru-baa now, what are you planning?"

"Did you hear? Arlong seemed to have escaped from Fishman Island with help from his little brother." The smile on her face never changed, as though the news she just gave was of no importance.

"… You know, I've always wondered how you females seem to know everything. First Tsuru-baa, Hina, and then Kalifa. But now you too?" The only reason he knew it was because he had just returned from a visit there, where he had a chat with Otohime and Jinbe! He had come straight back to shore after that, and needed a drink, so he visited Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, but it had been less than two hours since he got the news!

"Oh don't you worry about that, we women need to have our secrets. It makes us all the more desirable!" Cue one-eyed sexy wink.

"Okay stop. You're giving me goosebumps. Kalifa-chan, you don't have any secrets from me right? Surely no!" Turning around, wanting to prove his point, he moved towards his favorite subordinate, "Right?"

"O-of c-course not! I-I have nothing to h-hide…"

"Then why are you averting your gaze every two seconds." An exasperated expression filled his face as he sighed, "I guess you're right Shakky."

"Haha, I'm always right. Now shut up and get going."

"Alright, alright! Hey wait a minute, why did you tell me about Arlong? Do I need to look out for something?"

"Things are changing Naruto-chan. You need to stay alert at all times, savvy?" Blowing a smoke ring with ease, Shakky stared at the confused blond with amused eyes, "By the way, Rayleigh says hi."

"Ooooh! Where is that old guy? I've been trying to find him to teach me how to use that Haki thing properly!"

"Only you, Naruto-chan, with all that power within you without knowing how to use it."

"Hey, that's not very nice!" Pouted Naruto.

It was the truth, and pretty much everyone knew it. His Haki control was horrible. No one knew why. He could easily use the three types, though Haoshoku Haki usually brought about disasters, but still he could use them. But they were quite faulty at times, choosing only to work around five percent of the time. Luckily for him, he still had his senjutsu and other stuff to fight with, making him still quite a formidable opponent. Adding that to his reformed Rokushiki moves, he could take on any of the three admirals and give them a good fight. Sennin chakra allowed him to hit Logia users, but Dr. Vegapunk had told him multiple times that it wasn't as useful as Haki. Haki was an extension of one's willpower, one's inner energy, and while Sennin chakra represented inner energy, it lacked the component of one's will. It was merely one's connection to Nature, using energy that had to be given back. In a battle with Aokiji, it was discovered that normally with Haki, Naruto should have been able to punch him completely, making him sustain damage, but since he only used Sennin jutsu, he kinda punched 'half' of him, before the powers faded and his logia status kicked in, rendering that physical attack useless. It hurt for like two seconds before it disappeared, just like other normal attacks.

Now this was a problem, and Naruto had tried to train it for ages, but with no success. It was then on Sabaody Archipelago, where he was having a quick snack at Hacchi's Takoyaki store (how an octopus can be fine with making Takoyaki he would never know – _Takoyaki = Fried Octopus_), that he met Rayleigh once again. He had no idea this old man would be on the island. The last time he saw him was thirteen years ago, where he had that raid on Mariejois with Fisher Tiger. He had left the care of those Kuja females in his hands, along with that tiny Kuja woman and Shakky.

So they started having a drink together, talking about old times and then Naruto told him of the problems he was having, and Rayleigh volunteered to help teach him. It was unnerving to think that the 'Dark King' would actually help a _Marine_ with his skills, but then again, Naruto didn't think like normal people did and accepted his help without hesitation.

It would seem that the old man was currently out on some sort of trip, which would explain why it was so quiet in Shakky's bar. With the two of them around, it was much livelier and much more dynamic.

"Naruto-sama, it's time." With a short bow to both Naruto and Shakky, Kalifa quietly retreated from the room, leaving the two alone.

"Ah well, I guess I'll see you soon." Giving her a cheerful wave, Naruto left as well, "Ja ne!"

Staring at his retreating back, the woman took a drag of her cigarette, before letting it out in a sigh, "Yes… yes you will. See you in a few years, Naruto-chan." That smile of hers held a melancholy completely unlike the teasing one she had before.

Knowledge was a dangerous power. Having it might put you at an advantage at times, but it could also break your heart. Sometimes, not knowing was a much better option.

_Live, Naruto-chan. Live. Don't you dare let me down; I am your fan after all… _

X – X

"Do we really have to do this? I mean, it's just gonna be me saying hi and them saying bye. It's really not that hard to guess what they would say to me stepping onto Amazon Lily. I mean, it's called that for a reason. I am in no form, shape and size a female. I am a one hundred percent manly male." Mumbling as the ship slowly reached its destination, Naruto made one last ditch effort in trying to get out of this.

"Naruto-sama, making such stupid excuses does not make you manly."

"Oh come on! There are other ways to get someone to become a Shichibukai! Why must I use such a lame reason?" With desperation catching on, Naruto sighed as he was faced with a reluctant Kalifa, "See! You're not even that happy with me coming here, are you?"

"W-well, that is true, but still, orders are orders." Straightening her glasses, Kalifa gave an inward sigh, "Come on, Naruto-sama, don't make this harder than this has to be."

"Kalifa-chan, I love you."

"… Huh?" Completely dazzled by the sudden proclamation of love, the blonde could only blink as she felt her hand being taken up by his.

"Marry me!"

"I… I…"

"Kalifa-chan…" His eyes seemed ever so gentle, looking at her in a way that made her feel tingly all over.

"D-declaring your love to divert my attention is not going to w-work!" Holding on to her last line of defense, she tried to think of anything that could stop her from blushing, but to no avail.

_I've been dreaming of this scenario for years! But, but I can't agree to it! Oh, why must it be like this?_

"Tch, you got me."

"Did you just make that 'tch' sound? I knew it! Naruto-sama doesn't care about me at all!" With tears slowly welling into her eyes, she spun around, ignoring her flabbergasted boss, "Fine! Be that way! Go marry your precious Shichibukai! See if I care!"

"Wha, she's not even a Shichibukai yet! And also, I said all that to you because I'm trying to get _out_ of marrying her! Please, Kalifa, stop crying…" Wrestling with his only female subordinate, he tried his best to get her to face him, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I was being mean back there for no reason. Please forgive me."

"Sniff, you're really sorry?"

"Yes! Yes I am!"

"You'll do anything to apologize?"

"… Er… I didn't exactly say that, but sure! There aren't many things in this world I can't do, to be honest, heh." Rubbing his nose sheepishly, he gave her an appraising glance, "But try to keep it on the normal side. Things like 'I want to fly' or I want you to kill yourself' don't count alright?"

Upon hearing that, Kalifa's sobs were replaced by tiny giggles, "I would never ask such unreasonable things Naruto-sama."

"Yes, I know, but just in case." Winking, he folded his arms, "So? What do you want?"

"I don't want anything right now, I'll keep this for when I need something in the future."

"What? That's sly, girl. Ah well, whenever you think of that something, just tell me." Giving her a short peck on the forehead, Naruto turned back to the front of the ship, "Are we there yet?"

"No, sir!"

"Gawd, ships nowadays, so damn slow! Hurry it up!"

"But sir! We're travelling at max speed!"

"Then you guys jump off and push it!"

"NANI? _(WHAT?)_"

"It's an order!"

"H-HAI!"

After a minute or so, Naruto gave a stage whisper to a red-faced Kalifa, "I didn't think they would actually jump though. Are they stupid or something?"

He failed to remember the fact that he said it was an order, and orders from Vice-Admirals had to be obeyed by anyone who's not a vice-admiral, meaning all of them.

X – X

"You're not allowed to enter Amazon Lily!" shouted the dark-skinned woman.

"Sweet as, alright people! Let's get out of here!" Giving a shrug, Naruto turned on his heels and was about to leave when Kalifa pulled on his jacket, "Just a minute Naruto-sama."

"Do we _have_ to do this? I mean come on! The lady just told us that we vulgar, disgusting, pitiful, pathetic, carnivorous men _cannot_ enter the island! I mean what more do you want from me, Kalifa-chan!"

"Crocodile tears are reserved for females Naruto-sama."

"Hey, stop being so sexist. Us manly man can cry crocodile tears whenever we want, isn't that right folks?"

"Yes sir!"

Silence permeated the air, before Naruto exploded once again, "What's with the yes sir! You guys should be happier that I'm speaking up for all you ungrateful idiots! I'm giving you an excuse next time to use crocodile tears to get out of dates with hot women! How can you not thank me for that?" Snarling as he finished his sentence, Naruto then crossed his arms, waiting for the response he was looking for, only to find every single marine looking at him with the most pitiful expression ever, as if begging him to take back his words.

"It was a god damn joke! Can't you guys learn when you should take things seriously? Get a life damn it!"

"Yes sir!"

"Oh gawd, I'm surrounded by imbeciles." Rubbing his temple, Naruto then turned back to Kalifa, "Are you really sure you want me to keep going with this. I'm hyperventilating. I'm actually talking to these idiots. I'm trying to make a really cold joke, but they don't get it, so that irritates me even more. Do you _really_ want me to barge my way in there just to see Hancock, hm?" Mustering up as much of an evil aura as he could, Naruto glared menacingly at his former secretary.

"Hai, Naruto-sama."

"… I'm starting to dislike you, Kalifa."

"Oh please, you say that every time I get you to do something you don't want to."

"Then you should start taking the hint and _stop_ it!"

"But I'm your secretary, Naruto-sama. This is what secretaries do." Shifting her glasses, she smiled gently, "You can't get out of this. I have direct orders from Tsuru-sama."

"Oh alright." Turning back towards Kikyo, Naruto growled, "I'll wait five minutes for you to send a message back to your precious Hebi-hime, but if I don't get a reply that I like in that five minutes, then I'll have to use force. Are we clear?" The entire atmosphere around him changed, giving off an air of solemnity that allowed no room for argument. The Marines around him instantly stood at attention and stopped their jokes and whispers. Uzumaki Naruto was in business mode, and everyone knew not to mess with him. The motto of Uzumaki-sama was, "If you're gonna do it, do it properly."

What was the way to do it properly?

Do it with skill, style and efficiency. You want to finish what you start in the shortest time possible with the most amount of success you can achieve.

The Kuja woman trembled slightly as she was overcome by an oppressive sensation, threatening to swallow her whole if she dared uttered a word of disagreement.

This was the first time she felt so helpless. Her Haki stayed completely unresponsive, as though bowing down to a greater power. Swallowing, she answered with as calm a voice as she could muster, "Understood."

The moment she answered, she felt the weight lift, and in return, she got a charming smile that seemed slightly apologetic, "Thank you."

Nodding tersely, she walked briskly away from the shore, back to the village. The rest of the Kuja warriors lowered their arrows too, realizing that there was no need to be so tense. This, this man seemed so unique. His aura kept changing back and forth, between nice and scary. Not really understanding 'man', they've come to think of them as weaklings with germs and viruses that are infective. Why else would they not be allowed to interact with 'man'?

However, watching the interaction between the blonde woman and this man here caught their curiosity. The female seemed completely at ease in his company and even seemed to long for his gaze. It was as if having him look at her was all she wanted. That was something completely new for the Kuja pirates.

The fact that the male before them seemed strong, reliable and held a killing instinct within him made him more the all appealing to the surrounding Kuja females. His looks were irrelevant since most of them had no idea what a 'normal' man looked like, so Naruto's handsome face failed to earn him any favors. Then again, he never intended to use it to get any favors so it was all good.

Slowly, five minutes passed and Kikyo returned with a grim look on her face. It wasn't quite what she expected, since Hebihime-sama did agree to this man entering the village, but only him. This made it quite suspicious since normally, their precious Snake Princess would ridicule the males by turning them into stone.

"Hebihime-sama has agreed to your request, on one condition."

"Oh? Do tell." Raising an eyebrow, Naruto eyed the woman closely, not unlike that of a predator.

"Y-you go i-in alone."

"Hm…" Rubbing his chin, Naruto turned back towards all those marines with hopeful eyes. It was obvious that they wanted to enter the legendary Amazon Lily, a place filled with nothing _but_ women. It's like a paradise for guys. Granted, all sorts of women reside in there, but still, the dreams and hope that they were all beauties were further driven when they saw a few examples in the Kuja warriors that came out to 'greet' them. Skins ranging from tanned to porcelain white and bodies of all sizes and shapes, curvy and slim plus revealing bikini-like clothing that leaved nothing and everything to imagination were all factors to account for in the minds of his drooling subordinates.

He hated to disappoint but…

"Guys, you heard her."

"Nooooo!"

"B-but Uzumaki-sama!"

"Just one glimpse!"

"Please! I beg of you!"

"Sigh… Kalifa."

"Hai, Naruto-sama."

One rankyaku later, they were all silenced.

Nodding, Naruto gave her a soft smile, "You've improved."

Smiling in satisfaction, the blonde adjusted her glasses once more, "I've been training."

Turning back to Kikyo, Naruto asked, "Can she come with me? As you can see, she is a very feminine woman. Surely that is fine in the laws of Amazon Lily."

Surprisingly, the dark skinned woman shook her head, "I'm very sorry, but Hebihime-sama insisted that you come alone."

Frowning slightly, he gave a shrug, "Alright. Lead the way."

"Hai."

Glancing at Kalifa, and seeing her send a slight nod his way, Naruto followed the Kuja warriors through the forest, into the mysterious village of Amazon Lily.

X – X

"I really don't see what the fuss is all about. Just because I barged in on you while you were getting dressed by your bed doesn't mean I have to die, does it?" A very exasperated Naruto stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the arena.

It wasn't like he _intended_ to see her naked or anything. The woman outside told him that Hebihime will be with him shortly.

Shortly means one or two minutes, maybe five. Shortly did not mean twenty. So he got up, and barged in. It wasn't his fault there were no guards around to stop him, not that they could have stopped him, but still, it was basically inviting him into the room!

He pushed open the door, and there she was, half-dressed, bare feet, sitting by the side of the bed. Naruto rubbed his eyes once, before staring at the clock on the wall and turning back to her, "It's been twenty minutes and you can't even put a dress on you? Seriously?"

Yes, our favorite blond is _very_ punctual. To the extent that scantily covered female body parts mean nothing to him.

Well, no, he's been around for a very, _very_ long time, and taking into account the fact that he had already seen pretty much every single type of sexy, hot, cute, thin, supple female _flesh_ there ever was to walk in this damn universe, he much preferred to get this Shichibukai business done _before_ he started admiring the beauty of this world's hottest woman.

Naturally, Hebihime didn't take too well to that and sent him a _Mero Mero_ beam. Not even sure _what_ a heart-shaped beam was supposed to do to you, Naruto simply stood there with a raised eyebrow as the beam phased through him. After repeated attempts of her trying to turn him into stone and failing miserably, the princess refused to believe that her beauty meant nothing to him and declared that Naruto was gay.

Now that didn't sit very well with the blond. See, he had his appreciation of the human female body, and he had caressed, stroked and ravished his fair share of it. Granted, he had only made love to one woman so far, but hey, that didn't mean there wouldn't be more to come! If it weren't for the fact that being a vice-admiral made him so damn busy, he would be out there having a whole lot of…

Getting off topic, but anyway, long story short, Naruto retaliated in a very manly way. He called her a stupid bitch.

Oooooh, she wasn't going to take that lying down. Hell no, she was _the _Hebihime-sama and she had her pride.

She called him a big fat bastard.

Stepping back in horror, Naruto raged that she was all body no brain.

Snarling in disbelief at the rudeness of this man, she growled that he was a barbaric, perverted asshole.

And so it began, a match between two of the strongest individuals in the world.

By shouting at each other.

Very mature.

It took a while for Sandersonia and Marigold to rush into the room and separate them apart, but they got there eventually. Then it was decided that they were to 'execute' this brute in front of all the Kuja women. Make an example they say.

So here he was, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground, awaiting his 'executioner'. They didn't seem to care that he was a vice-admiral of the Marines, which was quite surprising, though Naruto simply concluded that they chose to forget that little detail.

It was pretty amusing if he ignored how utterly ridiculous this all was. Seriously? They were gonna fight him? He wasn't really paying attention when Tsuru-baa was lecturing him on why he should get Boa Hancock of the Kuja Tribe to become a Shichibukai, so he really had no idea how she fought. Given how she shot a beam at him that did absolutely nothing, he wasn't too fussed about her devil fruit ability. Given how Amazon Lily was pretty close to the second half of Grand Line, they were probably good Haki users. But other than that, he had nothing on them.

Not that he was worried. He hadn't had a good fight in a long, long time. Facing off a potential Shichibukai might be fun.

While he was off in his own world, the Kuja pirates had other things to talk about.

"You must be kidding Onee-sama! We can take care of him for you! You don't have to fight him yourself!" Sandersonia exclaimed in disbelief.

"Sonia-nee-sama is right! Onee-sama, such a man is beneath your status! Leave him to us!" Marigold chipped in her two cents.

"Hush! I have decided to fight him and it is final. I will personally see to it that this man is petrified, burned, drowned, sliced, smashed, destroyed, ruined, starved …" And the list went on and on and on until, "I _will_ get him to bow before me if it's the last thing I do!" With her jaws gnawing against each other, the sisters were treated to a side they never thought their precious and royal Hebihime-nee-sama would show.

"But Nee-sama!"

"Nee-sama, wait!"

"You will not argue against me! Is that clear?" Bending backwards, she raised a finger and pointed haughtily at them.

"H-hai…"

"Understood, onee-sama…"

A round of cheers brought Naruto back from his dream world of blood, muscles and fighting. It was nice to see so many fangirls go crazy over another girl and all, but damn it, having hot blooded scenes every now and then would really help him out! Wait, was he talking to himself again? He thought he stopped that ages ago! Ah whatever, sennin do this all the time anyway.

Then he found himself being pointed at by Hancock whilst she bowed backwards. He had no idea why all the females were yelling their voices hoarse over something so stupid.

Tilting his head, he jokingly said, "This isn't one of those silly things where you're looking down on someone so much that you're actually looking up, right?"

"Ignorant fool, that is exactly what I'm doing!"

_Silence…_

"I don't even know why Tsuru-baa wants someone as crazy as this to join the Shichibukai. I mean what the hell is up with that logic?"

"Nani? How dare you insult me so! Why I've never seen someone as moronic as you!"

"Oh really? Okay, then what part of your logic works hm? You're looking down on someone right? Do you understand what it means to look _down_? It means you don't look up you retard!" Roaring out his sentence, Naruto got right in the face of Hancock, crashing his skull with hers as she too pushed back.

"That's because you're such a commoner, not able to understand the thinking of someone as beautiful as I! Whatever I say, goes, because…" Forcing him back a step, she gave a swing of her hair, before placing her finger before her lips, "I am beautiful."

"AAAAH!"

"HEBIHIME-SAMA!"

"SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL!"

Slapping his hand to his face, Naruto could do nothing but shake his head, "I really, _really_ want to get out of this place. Ignorance is a sin, I swear. It's gotta be the eighth sin of humankind or something."

"You! How dare you speak that way to our Onee-sama! For that, you shall pay the price! Let's go, Mari!"

"Hai! Sonia-nee-sama!"

"… I just got talked to by a snake woman and a salamander woman… HOW CAN YOU EVEN BE SISTERS, GAWD! THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR DNA!"

"It's too late to beg for mercy!" Shouted Sandersonia as she activated her devil fruit powers, transforming into a huge serpent, retaining her arms and hair, making intimidating hissing noises as she slithered towards her target.

"Prepare to die!" Marigold on the other hand, transformed into a fire salamander, though the fact that she didn't have legs kinda made it hard to decide whether or not she was really a salamander, but let's not be too fussy here.

"I'm not even begging! Oh gawd, kill me now, I can't take this anymore." Spreading his arms wide, he just stood there and waited.

With their hair taking on the shapes of snakes, they launched their attacks respectively, preparing to end this disrespectful human's life. All the Kuja women in the stands were cheering their hearts out, waiting to see the man end up as nothing but a smear of blood.

"There's no way he can take on Sandersonia-sama and Marigold-sama at the same time!"

"Die, you vile pig!"

"Yeah! That's what you get for angering our hime!"

Rolling his eyes, Naruto muttered, "If I use Tekkai, it'll be like Kumadori trying to fail at seppuku-ing himself. Rasengan seems like overkill and I don't really wanna use Haki since I might end up destroying their minds and stuff. Ah well, stick with the basics."

"Ninpo: Konoha ryu ninjutsu ougi! _(Ninja Arts: Konoha Style Ninja Techniques Ultimate Art!)_" Forming a ram seal, Naruto then exclaimed in a proud manner.

"Kawarimi no jutsu! _(Substitution jutsu)_" In a poof of smoke he was gone, in his place stood Hancock, who had gone to sit down in her chair once Sonia and Mari started attacking.

"What the!"

"Onee-sama! Look out!"

Barely stopping their attacks, both snake sisters stood dumbfounded in the arena, frantically moving their heads around, trying to find the culprit, only to see him lounging in Hancock's seat.

"Man, Jiraiya would have laughed his ass off seeing me use a E-rank academy jutsu on a hot woman like her. Should have use Hari Jizo to make it look like a bondage scene, that might have been fun too." Mumbling to himself as he scratched the back of his head, Naruto yawned, "Wow, that attack was so strong, it almost looked like you guys were trying to kill me."

"We _were_ trying to kill you!"

"How did you get up there!"

"Get back here now!"

"How dare you sit in onee-sama's seat!"

Shrugging the blond got up and started walking down, "Well, I switched with her. Durr."

"Switch? Is that your devil fruit ability?"

"Despicable! As expected of a man!"

Hancock however, stayed surprisingly silent. Those eyes that held anger and resentment now changed to one of curiosity and surprise.

"Alright, alright, let's fight mano a mano."

"Huh?"

"Mano a what?"

"… I meant one on one." _Yeah, there's no Spanish in this world. Stupid me. Tried to be cool and failed miserably. Hi-five Ero-sennin._

Once more, the two snake women charged forth with their attacks, "This time, you won't escape! We've cornered you!"

Shaking his head, he merely held up both hands, forming two very familiar orbs of swirling aqua, slowly growing in size as the two neared him.

"Well, here goes nothing._ Double Rasengan_!" With a simple _Shunpo_, he clashed with their attacks right on, easily overpowering them, sending the two of them crashing into the walls of the arena.

"Holy!"

"How did he do that?"

"He pushed Sandersonia-sama and Marigold-sama backwards!"

"What were those blue balls he had in his hand?"

"Unbelievable!"

Hancock however, seemed shocked by that attack, her lips quivering as she took a step forward, "Is it… is it _you_?"

Starting at her sudden change in tone, Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

Hebihime ignored the quiet whispers that permeated the arena as the other females tried to understand why their precious Hebihime was talking to this man in such a pleading tone.

"Thirteen years ago… was it you?" Her voice quavered slightly, her fist clenched above her bosom.

Naruto blinked, before rubbing his nose as he ran through his memories. He didn't remember meeting Kuja… ah…

With his eyes widening, Naruto's frown instantly became a smile, "No way! You were that..."

"Yes!" Hancock exclaimed as she stepped forward, "So it was you!"

By this time, Sandersonia and Marigold have reverted back to their human form and came forth too, with great smiles on their faces, "That move! We won't ever forget it!"

"Oh yeah! I haven't used that move in ages. With the Marines, all I ever use is Rokushiki and other variations. I didn't think you girls will still remember the man in crazy outfit thirteen years ago!"

"We didn't think it was you at the start, but back then, Nyon-baa told us that the person who saved us was from the Marines. Shakky-san and Rayleigh-san too told us about you and how you actually came to save us, but they never told us your name!" Hancock held her hands to her cheek, "Shakky-san told us that it was a cute little boy, so none of us ever thought of looking for someone above the captain level."

"C-cute little boy…" With black lines running on the side of his forehead, Naruto sweatdropped, "Really… Nice one Shakky, way to advertise for me."

"But you were adorable back then! You were like ten years old!" Sandersonia exclaimed, her hands waving around as if to prove a point.

"Yes, yes I get enough of that already, but I'm now twenty three so can we skip that."

Hancock chuckled, "Aww, you're just shy aren't you?"

Sighing, Naruto shook his head, "This is the woman who was calling me a brute a while ago?"

Giving him a soft smack on the arm, the snake princess cooed, "Hey, you weren't very nice too."

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, now that we've got all that sorted, let me ask you the question I was meant to ask and then we can chat more."

"Oh yes, that's right. What were you here for?"

"Boa Hancock, on behalf of the marines, I'm here to invite you to join us as a Shichibukai."

X – X

"Well, that went alright, I guess." Scratching his head as he waved Hancock goodbye, Naruto gave a yawn, "In fact, it went way better than I expected."

"Did you tell her that you were supposed to marry her if she denied?"

"… What? What are you on about? I have no idea whatsoever!"

"Naruto-sama, denial of reality can only get you so far."

"Meh."

"Naruto-sama." Pouting in protest to his attitude, Kalifa gave him a poke on the cheek, "You're twenty three, stop acting so childish."

"Keh, I'll act however I like!"

Hancock had agreed to join the Shichibukai, not only because it was Naruto who asked, but because she too realized that it could help Amazon Lily. This way, less marines and pirates would dare bother the Kuja tribe, leaving them to their peaceful lives. There really wasn't any disadvantages to the alliance, since at best, the Marineford would require her presence every now and then, to which she could just ignore, and if they wanted her to help them destroy some pest, then she would be happy to find someone to relieve any stress that she might have pent up. Turning disgusting males into stone was very entertaining.

As he was leaving, Naruto couldn't help but try one more time, "Come on, not _all_ the guys in the world are like that!"

To which Hancock simply replied, "You are a prime example of why we think men are beasts."

"What? What did I do?"

"You peeked at my body without my permission, dared question my punctuality and even had the gall to yell vulgarities at me! What do you have to say about that?" Again with the action of leaning backwards while pointing her finger at him.

"Like, can you stop doing that? It looks really stupid." Scratching his head, Naruto sighed, "Well, the first one was just an accident. The second one was your fault. The last one was just me being an idiot."

"Hmph." Did she just pout?

"Alright, alright, I apologize, oh mighty queen." Rolling his eyes, Naruto gave a mock bow before flicking a finger off her forehead, eliciting a very cute 'itai' _(ouch)_ from her. "But don't get cocky now. Just because you have _Haoshoku no Haki_ and _Mero Mero no mi_ doesn't mean you're invincible." Pulling her into a hug, catching her completely by surprise, he continued, "Take care of yourself okay? Things will be changing very soon. I'll probably be caught in the middle of it all, so forgive me if I don't come visit for the next few years."

Releasing her from his embrace, Naruto sighed, "I'll miss you guys."

The next sight brought heart-shaped eyes to every single person who saw it, with the exception of Naruto of course.

Hancock gulped, before slightly averting her gaze, with a dim blush on her cheeks, she said, "Betsu ni anata ga kite hoshii nado koto nai wa! Kono burei otoko me!" (別に貴方が来てほしなど事ないわ！この無礼男め！- _It's not like I wished for you to visit us, you brute!)_

"Haha! It's quite cute to see you do that tsundere routine." Giving her a bright smile, Naruto boarded his ship, "Alright then, since you don't really wish for me to visit, I'll try not to drop by so often. Ja ne, Hancock!"

"W-wait! I didn't say that! I take it back!" Waving her arms about frantically, her blush deepened as a frown developed between her brows, "Mo, must you always tease me so?"

"Why of course! It's too much fun to pass up chances like this, Hancock-_chan_! Don't worry about it, you'll forget about me in like a few hours anyway. Hahaha!"

Those were the last words Hancock would hear from the blond for a long time. She had no idea just how much this man would affect her life, but she did realize that he attracted her. Just why she was attracted to a brute like this, she didn't know. All she could remember was that gentle gaze those cerulean orbs displayed thirteen years ago when he saved them from the Tenryuubito.

"I won't ever forget about you, Uzumaki Naruto." Those words were whispered and carried away by the wind, never reaching Naruto's ears even as he joked and laughed on the ship with the rest of the marines. Such a carefree face, such a cheerful smile.

Who would have thought of what would happen next?

X – X

They were halfway to their destination, somewhere between Nyougashima and Marineford, when meteors began raining down on them. Balls of magma tunneling down from the sky, catching the attention of everyone on the ship. Screams of terror and fear ran across the deck as soldiers tried to escape from this natural disaster.

Only Naruto knew that this was no 'natural' disaster.

"_Fuinjutsu: Shihou Enjin! _– (Sealing Technique: Four Sided Fire Forcefield!)" A bright blue barrier expanded from Naruto, easily shielding the entire marine ship from the blasts.

"Tch, what the hell?" Frowning, Naruto himself leapt from the ship, stabilizing himself in midair using Geppou, "What is the meaning of this Akainu!"

"It seems like I've been found out." Slowly emerging from the smoke, a marine ship gradually entered the view of the ones on Naruto's ship, with the famed Admiral Sakazuki standing cross-armed on the deck.

"No shit I found you out. You and I are the only ones who can do this right now, and since it's not me, then it must be you!"

"Oh ho? You say you can do it?" Sakazuki held a smug smirk, "Then prove it."

"_Katon: Ryuusei no jutsu! _(Fire Element: Meteor Technique)" Just as before, flying rocks of flames came crashing down on Sakazuki, taking the admiral by surprise.

Normally, the technique would require one to first ready the rocks, throw them in the air, and then spit out a flame to light them. Naruto, having had years of experience, now possessed the ability to simply gather whatever dust there was in the air, light them using friction of his chakra, and hurl them at enemies.

"_Dai Funka! _(Great Eruption)" Forming a huge fist of molten rock, Sakazuki easily took care of the stray meteors heading his way. "I see, so you do have the ability to do it. No wonder the Gorousei are worried about you."

"Ho? I didn't think someone that high up would be worried about good little me. Have I perhaps caused some trouble for them?" Matching the smirk on Akainu's face, Naruto drawled as he scratched the back of his head, "Then again, I am a troublemaker so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. I knew something like this would happen soon. So? What's the verdict?"

Sakazuki stayed silent for a bit, before another voice rang out on the deck, "I'm afraid we have to take you to Impel Down, Uzumaki, fufufufu!"

Staring at the tall blond with his flamboyant clothes, Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Donquixote Doflamingo…"

"At your service! More like at the Marine's service! Fufufufu!"

"I see." Shaking his head, Naruto shrugged, "I bet you made a deal with the Tenryuubito or something, got them to pressurize the Gorousei into acting on me eh? Not bad, this is probably why they wanted you to be a Shichibukai." Smiling wryly, Naruto went on, "But Impel Down? Really? What exactly is my crime?"

"Associations with multiple well-known pirates, consistent disrespect to the upper powers and failure to obey were a few of the ones that came up." The man with sunglasses squatted down as he titled his head to the left, "I'm sure you don't need to know the other stuff, they're all pretty dumb anyway."

"Doflamingo, you're only here on behalf of the Tenryuubito. Talk anymore and I will personally melt you, are we clear?"

"Fufufu, so scary, Akainu-san. Okay, I'll leave you to it then." As he was leaving he raised his hand and flicked his forefinger in the direction of Naruto, only to frown slightly when nothing happened, "So it really _doesn't_ work on you… Interesting."

"Yeah, yeah, go find your own play-puppets. I'm taken." Rolling his head in a circle, Naruto loosened up his body, "Alright, since I don't really feel like being arrested, let's duke it out. It's been awhile since I was in a good fight anyway."

"Naruto-sama!" Kalifa's voice was heard from below, her worry and anxiety echoing through the air.

"Get that ship outta here now, Kalifa! It's an order!"

"But Naruto-sama!"

"NOW!"

Biting her lips, the young woman could only hold back her tears as she lowered her head. "H-hai…"

Sakazuki watched this with an amused look on his face, "You seem pretty confident."

"Please, it's not like I'll die from fighting you." Cracking his knuckles, Naruto continued with his series of stretches, "I can hold my own against Kuzan _and_ Borsalino. What makes you think you're any different?"

"That was from sparring. I intend to kill you."

"Great, what else is new?" Stopping for a second, a sly grin came on Naruto's face, "Did you finally realize it was me?"

Gritting his teeth, Admiral Akainu spoke in a solemn manner, "It is quite hard not to when vice-admiral Garp talks about it whenever he's drunk."

"That old bastard. I knew it would be him." Staring at the stony-faced admiral before him, Naruto smirked, "So, you want some payback eh?"

"For slighting my honor and pride, you shall pay the price. Even though the orders didn't specify whether or not you are to stay alive, I personally prefer you dead." Those brown eyes grew cold with each word, even as magma began gathering on his fists.

"Geez, it was just a joke. Besides, you gotta admit the cape was cool."

"_Inugami Guren! _(Fiery Lotus of the Dog God)" Creating a wave of magma shaped like that of a dog, Sakazuki launched it at Naruto without a moment's hesitation.

"Guess you don't think so. _Katon: Karyuu endan!_ (Fire Element: Blazing Fire Dragon Missile)" In retaliation, the blond quickly summoned up his chakra, firing a huge fiery dragon back at Sakazuki.

The two attacks clashed in mid-air, each fighting for supremacy before finally detonating each other in the process.

"_Shunpo!_" He was gone with the wind, appearing behind Sakazuki in but a second, "_Shigan: Juumyaku Shingan! _(Finger Gun: Holy Gun of the Ten Veins)" Having improved his attack from six to ten, streams of chakra coated in Haki was fired at Akainu from all ten of his fingers, intent on drilling a whole through his torso.

"Hmph! Such arrogance will be your downfall! _Bakuen Ranken! _(Explosive Fists of Chaos)" Gathering a huge amount of magma on both hands, Sakazuki leapt into the air, before punching right at Naruto, the magma easily clashing with the chakra attack, before melting it away slowly. What's more, the explosions that followed caused a smokescreen, blinding Naruto in the process.

"_Ryusei Kazan!_ (Meteor Volcano)" Repeating the move he first started off with, scorching rocks of lava fell from the skies once more, raining down on the blond, expecting to catch him off guard.

"Man, this is getting annoying. _ Ninpo: Kuchiyose! Hagoromo Gitsune! _(Ninja Arts: Summoning! Leather Robe Fox!)" A scantily clad beauty rose from the deck, standing in front of Naruto, her countless tails swishing in the air as they struck down every single one of the meteor.

"It's quite unusual for you to summon me, Uzumaki." Her porcelain skin, coupled with her luscious, voluptuous body gave forth an image that fitted the very meaning of 'female'. Sakazuki frowned, before steadying himself with his Haki. Even he felt slightly uncomfortable with the appearance of this… this… _demon_.

Naruto, on the other hand, seemed used to it, and grabbed hold of her hand, dragging her into his arms with a spin, before planting a rough kiss on her lips, entangling her entire soul with his, creating a bond that could not be broken.

"I've always wondered how you can taste so nice." Naruto mumbled as he released her lips from his, his finger lightly tracing the curves of her body, "Care to tell me this time?"

"Hn, words of flattery will get you nowhere." Her eyes sung with desire, her dainty fingers lightly scratching his whiskers as she purred, "What is your order, my love?"

"Our friend seems to believe that magma is the hottest fire one can find in this world, would you care to prove him wrong?" Luring her in for another kiss, Naruto's words ended on a silent whisper, hinting at the rewards that were to come.

"Your wish is my command." With a snap of her fingers, pillars of white rose from the water, scorching all that stood in their way whilst forming a gigantic cube around Sakazuki.

"Prove me wrong? Insolent fools! I'll show you – "

"Warawa no mae de shaberu na. _(_妾の前で喋るな！-_ Do not speak in my presence!_)" Emerald orbs lit up in rage at the impudence shown by this ignorant fool, fiery tails netted the skies as they prepared for the attack.

"Anata no you na kemono ga warawa no itoshi kare ni keiga o saseru dato? Warau waseruna! (貴方のよな獣が妾の愛しい彼に怪我おさせるだと？笑わせるな！-_ A beast like you dares to say he will harm my beloved? Don't make me laugh!_)" In a drastic contrast to the dark, molten magma on Sakazuki's fists, the flames that danced around her tails were bright as the sun, singing with the tunes of life as they floated around, awaiting the orders of their master.

"Ayakashi no hono o nameru nara, so no daika o zonbun ajiwao ga ii! (妖怪の火お舐めるなら、その代価お存分味わおがいい！- If you dare underestimate the powers of a demon's fire, then you shall pay the price!)" In a flash, the flames were on him, surrounding him in circles, spiraling around him as they closed in.

No matter what Akainu tried to do, his magma simply could not break out of the sphere. Slowly realizing his predicament, he growled in annoyance and began using whatever moves he had, so as to escape the current situation, but alas, the flames of Hell were simply too hot, leaving scorches all over him as they got closer and closer to his torso.

"Warawa no mae ni yakitsukuse! (妾の前に焼き尽くせ！- _Burn to ashes before me!_)"

"Youko Seika! (妖孤聖火 – _Holy Flames of the Spiritual Fox_)"

From afar, all Kalifa could see was a sea of white. It burned and burned and burned, as though it were alive on the ocean, rejecting the hold water had over it, never relinquishing its strength in the elemental cycle, that _it_ is the birth of the earth! Fire is the element of creation and destruction, and nothing will stand in its way!

Trembling as she held her arms to her body, Kalifa strained her eyes as much as she could, trying to find even just a shadow of the man she always looked up to, only to come up empty. Not just Naruto-sama, but even Sakazuki was nowhere to be found. It was as though they all just disappeared.

"Naruto-sama?"

"Naruto-sama!"

"Naruto-samaaaaa!"

X – X

Two days later, Admiral Akainu was found incapacitated in the yards of Marineford, suffering from third degree burns all over his body. At the same time, Saint Roswald was discovered to be suffering from a similar fate, for reasons unknown. Tsuru and Sengoku each received a message regarding the events that took place, in particular how Boa Hancock was now part of the Shichibukai.

_I guess I need a break. Think of this as my holiday, and to a certain extent, yours. Since the holy people think I'm a nuisance, I guess I'll try to live up to that eh? Being a pirate or revolutionary might be fun for a change. But don't worry, I won't do something that will truly jeopardize the Marine, that you can be rest assured of. Tsuru-baa, try not to miss me okay? Say hello to the others for me!_

_ Signed Uzumaki Naruto._

_ P.S. I'll always be your favorite brat. _

"That brat…" With tears in her eyes, she simply shook her head, "We both knew all along this was going to happen. Now, go forth and find your path! I've taught you all that I can, now use it to the best of your abilities! See the world for yourself! Change the world as you will! But never forget, that I will always be here, awaiting your return."

Sengoku and Garp stood silently behind her, exchanging glances every now and then. It was hard to decide how to act, because Naruto had done nothing wrong. Perhaps the kid was right; he really did need some time off.

Walking slowly to his desk, he picked up a form and began filling, before handing it over to Garp, "Vice-admiral Uzumaki, request for holiday granted."

Without turning back, Tsuru whispered, "Arigato, Sengoku." _(Thank you)_

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a commander letting my soldier get his rest." Covering his eyes with his cap, Sengoku crossed his arms, "God knows he needs it."

"Gahaha! That kid will be alright. If he can take on Sakazuki and get away, then there's no one on this planet that can kill him. Tsuru-chan, stop weeping over there like a baby! We need to get some booze! The little pranking terror is gone! I can finally eat sweet ice-cream again!"

Smiling despite the heavy atmosphere, Tsuru lightly rubbed her eyes against her sleeves, before turning around and giving a small smile, "I think we should keep them that way, the salty-sweet flavor was beginning to grow on me."

"What? NO! I want sweet ice-cream only! SWEET YOU HEAR?"

"We could even sell it out to the soldiers, I'm sure they would appreciate it as Naru-chan's parting gift."

"NO! SWEET DAMN IT! I WANT SWEET – "

"How does sea-salt ice-cream sound?"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

"What do you say, Kuzan?" Turning to the latest addition in the room, Tsuru's smile merely widened, "You liked it too, didn't you?"

"Ara ara, if I were to say yes, Vice-admiral Garp would maul me."

"That old fool will do no such thing if he knows what's good for him."

"SWEET ICE CREAM IS WHAT'S GOOD FOR ME YOU CRAZY OLD BAT!"

"Yare yare, what are you being so excited about Vice-admiral Garp?" Admiral Kizaru drawled amusingly as he stepped into the room, "I heard you all talking about sea-salt ice-cream? It is getting quite _hot_ in here, what with all those burns, ne?"

"Hahaha! Borsalino, is that anyway to talk about your fellow comrade?" Kuzan shook his head as he clapped a hand on his shoulder, "You weren't that much better, you know."

"Says the guy he got the idea of sea-salt ice-cream from." A direct retort was given.

"Ararara, let's not go there, eh?"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? SWEET ICE CREAM! SWEET – "

"For goodness' sake, would you shut up, Garp!" It was all Sengoku could take not to strangle his long-time friend.

And so, another peaceful day passed in Marineford, with the higher-ups completely ignoring the chaos that was currently circulating the world.

Vice-admiral Uzumaki Naruto, the famed _Crimson Storm_, had gone missing in action.

No one knows why the vice-admiral went missing, but many surged forth to take advantage of it.

In the East Blue, Cocoyashi village, escapee from Fishman Island, fishman Arlong was reported to launch an attack on it one more time once news of Uzumaki's disappearance spread throughout the world.

With the CP9, Spandam, whose father, Spandine, had died in a jail, came forth and took control of the CP9 once again, vowing to use it as a tool of revenge on all those that dared slight him, starting with the missing Uzumaki Naruto.

In Alabasta, Miss All Sunday suddenly requested for a temporary break, sailing out in the Grand Line without a mention of what it was she was searching for.

Captain Hina and Smoker set out from Marineford in their respective ships, ignoring the calls from their superiors, determined to find their friend if it was the last thing they did.

The Yonkou in the New World were noticeably quieter for the next few days, surprising many as they waited. Waited for the kid they trusted to go find them.

Revolutionary Leader Monkey D. Dragon held a smirk on his face as he read the news. This was a sign to everyone in the world.

This was the beginning of a new era!

* * *

_**Okay, and cut. The ending was a bit vague for this one, but it was intentional. No need to start making guesses as to who Naruto will join because next chap will just be a time skip. The last few sentences were just there to hint at the events that will come. Hope you've enjoyed the chapter! Sorry it was a bit late. I had exams to study for, so couldn't find time to finish it. I'll try and update soon but I give no guarantees. Anyway, please review and tell me your thoughts about it. **_

_**P.S. If you want, you can guess who the only woman Naruto has slept with so far was. It's not Hagoromo Gitsune because she is not a 'person', she is a demon. As for who it really was, I'm not saying. You can hold your guesses until I reveal it later on in the fic, heh heh. **_

_**P.P.S In case you were wondering, this Hagoromo Gitsune is slightly different. So don't ask me why she can all of a sudden use flames and stuff. This is a modification of her being a summon of the Kitsune Clan, and as such, her abilities were changed by me. I still find it cool though, so just live with it. **_


	6. Us Against the World

_**A/N: So yeah, some of you commented (okay, scolded me) for having a chunk of jap in the fic towards the end. I was trying to do an anime monologue kinda thing in jap because jap sounds cooler, but fine, I'll try and keep it down. Realize however that I will leave some words in Japanese, because they make more sense than if I directly translate them to English. I'll put translations beside them so don't worry. **_

_**Also, Naruto's not exactly a pirate yet. He's like a freelancer, doing some bounty hunting for fun, meeting up with his pirate friends, but he's still technically a Marine on leave. Well, this chapter will be starting after a 4 year time skip since last chapter, so Naruto is now 27, making him 10 years older than Luffy. **_

_**Alright, let's get this thing started. Have fun! =D**_

_**Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece/Naruto/Nurarihyon no Mago. I might own some Persona if I get myself something to bring them out, so let's wait on that for a bit. But so far, ATLUS has them, so yeah. **_

A Whole New World

Chapter 5: Us Against the World

"Yosh! I'm off! See ya guys!" An exuberant seventeen year old donned his precious straw hat as he hopped onto the small boat by the shore.

"Take care!"

"Be careful out there!"

"Remember to come back and visit!"

"Okaaaay! I wiiiilll! Everyone! Bye!" Waving his hands about in excitement, Monkey D. Luffy gave a wide grin that threatened to split his face at the villagers that came to send him off.

"Olivia-baa-san! Thank you for teaching me all that geography stuff! I'll try and use them if I can!" Turning specifically to the white-haired woman, his smile grew even wider, if that was possible.

"Sigh, oh Luffy, you don't have to do that. Heaven knows where you might really end up if you actually used them. You'll probably be better off just following your instinct." Shaking her head, the middle-aged woman answered his words with a gentle wave of her hand, "Don't push yourself too much okay? Take care now."

"Haaaai! Whew, thank god you said that. Now I can just drift around to wherever! Shishishi!"

Sweatdropping at his outright exclamation, she simply smiled and let it go, "Look after yourself alright? I'll speak to Dadan later and tell her not to worry."

"_Arigato!_ (Thank you) Oh, oh, and if you see Naruto, tell him that I'll go kick his ass right after I kick Ace's, okay?"

"Haha, I don't think there's any need for me to tell him that."

"Ehhhhh? Why not?" Pouting with his lower lip stuck out, he gave the lady he came to treat as his auntie the best puppy look he could muster.

"Because I'm right here, you idiot."

"Ah! Naruto! Teme!"

From the other side of the shore, a familiar blond with long, spiky hair landed lightly beside Olivia, his cerulean orbs shining in amusement as he looked at his surrogate brother, "You didn't think I would just let you sail off by yourself without saying goodbye to me, did you?"

"Awww, I wanted to surprise you!"

"And you did! I just surprised you more, is all." It became clear who Luffy learned to grin crazily from, though the blond had on a smirk instead. Then again, the entire Monkey family was filled with weirdos in his experience, so he didn't pay it too much attention.

"Naruto-san!" Makino gasped, before asking in a cheerful voice, "Weren't you away on a trip?"

"Heh, yeah, got back early because _someone_ tried to sneak off without letting me give him a proper hug! Now I can't have that happening, can I? My reputation would be in ruins!" Namikaze Naruto gave a bark of laughter as he grabbed a horrified Luffy by the wrist, "Come 'ere!"

"Yaaaaa! No! No! I don't want too! Aaaaaah! Save me!"

"Heh heh, _Namikaze Ryu Taijutsu Ougi: Kuma Haaaaaagu! _(Bear Hug)"

Screams of disgust and agony reverberated through the forest, eliciting hilarious laughter from the crowd as they witnessed the taller blond wrestle with the thinner, lithe Luffy, intent on giving his little brother a manly hug before his departure.

"I'm a grown-up now! Stop trying to hug me like I'm a rubber toy or something!" Protesting vehemently at his treatment, Luffy growled menacingly as he got into a battle posture, ready to do everything it took to stop his oldest brother from doing something so ridiculously childish in front of all these people. Seriously, what was his deal with hugging? He hugs everyone!

Ever since four years ago when he arrived in this village, claiming he was a relative of Olivia-obaa-san, he had taken up the surname of his father this time and settled down nicely in Windmill Village, earning both respect and admiration from the villagers. It was because of him that the usual thugs like mountain thieves rarely dared show their faces in the village, and the fact that he was a ninja helped people lots.

If you could make two thousand copies of yourself and build a house in one day, then you will become a legend. Naruto could do it, so he became a legend. Well sort of. There were rumours that he was just a house-building spirit who took on the appearance of a human because he was too bored. That got a good laugh out of him.

He could have made a house in a few minutes using his Mokuton jutsu, but the house wouldn't look that nice, so he decided to work on it himself. He was, after all, going to be living there for quite some time, it wouldn't do for him to constantly crash at Olivia's house. The irony was that he invited Olivia to live in _his_ house, since it was much, _much_ bigger than the tiny hut Olivia was residing in, and the archeologist just couldn't deny his offer because his excuse was just too cute.

_I er… kinda messed up making this house, so it got kinda big. Wanna, you know, move in with me? I swear I won't be a nuisance! I can cook, clean, wash and fix anything that goes wrong! Come ooon, you know you want to! _

Nico Olivia had simply changed her name to Cion Olivia, before adding a pair of glasses to her face to finish off her change. There really wasn't a need for her to undergo any drastic changes like face lifting because everyone thought Nico Olivia of Ohara was dead. There was no evidence at all stating that other than Nico Robin, there was another archeologist from Ohara that was still alive, hence the reason why there was such a high bounty over Robin's head. When Naruto got her a job as a keeper for a bookstore, he had sealed all of the books from Ohara into that scroll, stating clearly that at any time did she feel that she wanted to do some research, she could simply pluck out the books from the scroll.

However, he had warned her that research that she did was at her own risk. If anyone were to see even a tiny sliver of the information, it wouldn't be just her life in jeopardy, but also her daughter's. Underneath his strict words, Olivia could just imagine that cute little face of that child trying to act all serious and even till today, the woman would always tease him for that letter. Sure he was a powerful and charismatic kid, but he was still a cute, chubby kid.

Over these last few years, Naruto developed a mother-son relationship with Olivia, insisting on helping her wherever possible. Daily chores were done by him, cooking was done by him whenever he was free and any labour that involved physical exertion was done by him. While heart-warming, it was still quite saddening at times to see him do everything and she had repeatedly scolded Naruto if _he_ over-exerted himself from her point of view. It was as if he didn't care for himself but only for everyone else in his vicinity. She had tried to talk to him about it multiple times but Naruto had simply replied that this was just in his genes. Because he was born with a demon in him, he took up the role of a protector, and that included protecting others from himself too, hence he would never care too much if he himself was injured, because that was his role. He was bound to get injured from protecting others, and he didn't really see anything wrong with that.

Olivia felt her heart go out to the blond and responded by pulling him into her arms, hugging him tightly.

_You're not alone. There is no need to take on the whole world by yourself, you know._

Those were the same words whispered to him by all sorts of people, and yet, he still found himself smiling just a little bit. It always felt great to have someone care for you, no matter who they were. In a way, he understood that Olivia was repaying him for saving both her daughter and herself, but he had never really classified this affection and care from the woman as being 'true'. After that night, the two truly bonded, and Naruto gladly accepted Olivia as a mother. To be honest, he had lacked a motherly figure for the better part of his life, and while Unohana did fill in some of the gap, she couldn't fill everything. The thirst to have a mother hold you, tease you and just plain love you grew stronger as time went on. His inability to enjoy life with Kushina as his mother would always be a frustration, which would explain why he hated seeing mothers die before their children.

Olivia had heard his entire life story from him, asking him all sorts of questions, and at the end of it all, she could only sit there as the words flew past her mind once again. This was either a very convincing lie, or an extremely ridiculous truth. She was okay with the rebirth, ability gain and all that but the hardships in his life? That was really pushing it. Granted, she realized that they could happen but to actually _hear_ that they happened was quite mind-blowing. All the others ever wanted to do to her was at worst, kill her. Naruto had told her that evil masterminds were constantly trying to take over the world and in the process of trying to prevent that, he was humiliated, tortured, severely injured and _dead_ countless times before he succeeded.

What was it that kept the boy going? He couldn't have been older than fifteen when he first 'died', and as he put it, if not for that fox demon in him, he probably would have stayed that way. How could such a young soul undergo that much pressure and suffering and still turn out to be such a respectable man?

_I live to protect. It's as simple as that. There's nothing special about that. As long as I get to see everyone I care for safe and sound, then I know I can put in a little more effort just to ensure it stays that way. _

Olivia sat quietly for a moment, before raising her head and staring right into his eyes, "Will you let me be a precious person of yours?"

His reply was a cheeky grin, "Absolutely."

There were the occasional jokes where Olivia told him that he was technically her son-in-law, so if he had dared reject her when she asked that question, she would have gone 'bonkers' on him. Naruto laughed that she didn't even know what 'bonkers' meant, but her serious gaze led him to rethink that opinion.

"_Son-in-law? Wait, where did that come from?"_

"_You and Robin make a fine couple."_

"_Why did you even think Robin and I are a couple?"_

"_Ah, so you are."_

"_Wait, what? No! I need to clear my mind before you trick me into more traps."_

"_I know for a fact that you care very much about her."_

"_Yes! But I never said it was in that way!"_

"_Actions speak louder than words. Stop denying this poor woman a chance to play match-making." _

"_But, but, but…"_

Long story short, he had no chance against this woman. She had him cornered in every way and since then, the moment the conversation turned this way, he would either run like the devil was after him or like the devil itself. Olivia would smack him over the head and call him an insensitive brat using stupid puns to aggravate her even more when he was trying to escape from the subject. Naruto retorted that it wasn't like she _was_ a devil; it was just a figure of speech.

"_I can't even use it as a metaphor?"_

"_No."_

Putting that aside, life in Windmill Village was relaxing and fulfilling, completely unlike the busy life he had led up till now. He took the time to start meditating again, realizing the reason why his Haki was faulty most the time. He had to reach into his inner mind, take control like he did with Kyuubi's chakra; only this time, instead of making it his own, he needed to assert his will on it. Tsuru-baa had told him a long time ago that the main reason people do not use or train their Haki is because they do not realize they _have_ Haki. To be able to use that power, he had to train his mind so that it registered that power as his own.

There were times he left Luffy and Ace and went into the Summons Realm once more. There, he was able to go all out, testing his usage of Haki and other moves, challenging Kyuubi to one on one matches just like he did a lifetime ago. Training was never dull, be it quality or quantity. When he was bored, he would simply take on the entire kitsune or toad clan, making it an all-out brawl. If he wanted to enhance a certain skill, he would usually take on Hagoromo Gitsune. That woman was a gem at helping him with improving his techniques, saving him a lot of trial and error time.

For the past four years, he had absolutely no contact with the CP9 or the Marines. His reason was somewhat childish and simple. He had left on a break, and though it might have been more logical for him to keep an eye on events anyhow, he decided to let it go. Olivia _and_ to his surprise, Makino, both told him to let it go. He wasn't a god, no matter how strong he was or could become. There will definitely be times where he would be too late, and people will definitely get hurt even if he was there. They needed to get used to the fact that there won't always be someone to save them, even if they were your precious people.

Naruto had stayed silent throughout the conversation, before finally giving in. He trusted his reputation and the Fishmen event ten years ago. No one would dare harm anyone related to him for the time being, even if he was missing. As long as there was a possibility that he wasn't _dead_, then they wouldn't dare risk it. What happened to Arlong and Hody Jones on television that day would forever be hammered into their minds. He had once wanted to go check up on Cocoyashi village, since Shakky did remind him that Arlong had escaped, but finally decided against it.

Bellemere-san had already phoned him right after the fishmen event, yelling hoarsely through the phone about how much of an idiot he was and that he didn't have to go that far just because of them. Naruto couldn't get a single word in the conversation, if you could even call it that. The bottom line was that if Bellemere found out that Naruto was still going out of his way to help them, then she would ignore the blond for the rest of her life.

What the other villages thought was a pathetic threat miraculously became a fatal dagger to Naruto, as he instantly promised that he won't bother Cocoyashi for the next few years unless Bellemere-san came to find him herself.

A promise was a promise, and since Bellemere had yet to contact him, he stayed put during these past four years.

But now, things have changed. Windmill village's favorite brat was now going off on his journey.

"Oi Luffy!"

"Haargh?" The straw-hat boy was in the middle of attempting to chew his arm off as he held him to his face.

"Make sure you get famous, you hear me?"

"Hn! Of course I will! I'm gonna become the Pirate King!" At that declaration, that familiar grin grew on his lips as he finally broke out of Naruto's grip, backflipping through the air before landing safely in his tiny boat.

"Shuppatsu! _(I'm off!)_" Raising his arms in a victory gesture, Luffy started waving them once again, "Minna! Sayonara! _(Goodbye everyone!)_"

"Bye bye!"

"Stay safe, Luffy!"

"Say hi to Ace for us when you see him!"

"Be careful out there!"

"Don't you get eaten now!"

"We're rooting for you!"

Naruto stood there, with his arms crossed, a small smile on his face as he remembered a certain conversation he had four years ago, sometime after he defeated Sakazuki.

"_I need a favor."_

"_Oh? What is it? You're not really one to – "_

"_I have a son, in Windmill Village of East Blue."_

"…_!"_

"_Since you are going there anyway," The man with a red tattoo on his face gave a wry smile, "Would you mind looking after him for me?" _

"… _I… don't know what to say. You're really telling me this? I'm still a Marine you know."_

"_Of course I know. That's why I'm telling you. You aren't happy with the Marines and the World Government, are you?" His eyes held a glint in them as he leaned on the wall, "We have a common goal. The only thing different is the process we undertake."_

_Naruto stood silently, thinking over his words._

"_My old man is a Marine too." Sighing, the most feared criminal of the world shook his head, "But he's too stubborn. He doesn't see that the thing he's spent his entire life protecting is dying away bit by bit." _

"_Hn, you got that the stubborn bit right, that crazy old man."_

"_Absolute justice shall be the downfall of the world if it isn't stopped. How to stop it, that is the question I'm trying to answer."_

"_You know I disagree with you on that."_

"_Yes, but the outcome we're both trying to achieve is the same, and that is peace. True peace."_

"_Heh, yeah. Which is why we're even chatting right now."_

"_Peace won't come so easily, you know. The entire world is living their roles as sheep, letting the shepherd do whatever it wants, leading them by their noses. They have no concept of peace, only thinking that their current steady and stable lives at the cost of countless deaths and ruins are peace."_

_Chuckling bitterly, Naruto shrugged, "As long as the Tenryuubito are present, and the World Government supports them, then there shall never be true equality. Right now, they tell everyone that all people are equal, but in actual fact, we all know that some people are more equal than others." _

"_Hn hn, this is why I like you. Even as a Marine you stand your ground, unafraid to venture out and correct something you think is wrong. Uzumaki Naruto! I leave my son in your hands!" _

"_Hahaha! Fine! I'll see what I can do. Realize that all I'll do is help him slightly, ensure that he grows up properly but that's it. I'm not interested in shaping your kid's life for him." Staring the revolutionary leader right in the eye, Naruto grinned, "As a man, I leave it up to him to find the path that he takes." _

"_Of course. That was my intention." _

"_Sigh, it's gonna be a long time before we see each other again. The road before us is tough, you up for the challenge?" _

"_Heh, this is nothing. The moment I became a revolutionary, I realized where my path will take me. I _will_ get there in the end! No matter who or what tries to stop me, I will push on! I owe it to my family, friends and nakama." _

"_I see. So it's us against the world eh?"_

"_You got that right, pal! I like that saying!" _

"_What'd you say we drink to our alliance?"_

"_Kanpai! (Cheers!)" _

"_Sweet as!" _

As promised, he watched Luffy grow into the teenager he is today. That little episode with Shanks played a major role in his views, and Naruto respected that. He could totally see this brat wreaking havoc all over the place, irritating the hell out of Sengoku and the vice-admirals.

The interesting thing to note was the possession of the Haoshoku no Haki within Luffy, even though the brat had no idea it existed. Naruto had been quite surprised when he first discovered it, but then remembered who his dad was, and merely shrugged it off. He didn't train Luffy in it or even mention it to him. He simply let the boy train as he will, because having shortcuts meant nothing to building one's body. He was young, far too young, and with his naïve personality, there will be times where he'll reach walls blocking his way and cross-roads testing his will.

The only way to help him was to give him a little push, and Naruto did just that.

"Naruto! I'll make sure I find myself some precious _Nakama_! Just like Shanks did! When you meet them, you'll be completely shocked by their awesomeness!"

"Ha! Sure thing! If you can find them, that is!" The grin on his face mirrored that on Luffy.

"Hell yeah I'll find them! You told me that, didn't you? The sea out there is huge! All sorts of people are out there! I am never alone! Shishishishi!"

"_Strength by oneself is not true strength. You see this chopstick, Luffy?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_See how thin it is? Try and break it."_

"_Eeeehhh? But that's easy! See!" With ease, he snapped the wooden chopstick in half._

"_Haha, yes. Right now," Poking the kid on the forehead, he smirked, "you're like that chopstick."_

"_Nani? How dare you call me weak! I'm strong I tell you! Strong, damn it!"_

"_Alright alright, calm down. Now," Taking out a whole bunch of chopsticks, he roped them into a tight bundle, before handing it back to Luffy, "Try and break this one."_

"_A-re? A-are? This i-is q-quite h-hard!" Gritting his teeth as he used his entire strength, Luffy failed to break the bundle._

"_Tsk tsk, not strong enough, kid." _

"_Grrrrr!"_

_Taking the bundle from him, he let the kid take a couple of deep breaths, before he continued, "Now this bundle, represents your future nakama and yourself." _

"_Na…Nakama? Oooh! Like Shank's crew!" With stars in his eyes, Luffy started paying full attention._

"_Yes. He is strong, but he has other strong people to support him as well, and in turn, he acts as their pillar of strength, supporting them in different ways. That is the role of a captain." _

"_Ooooh! Sugeeei! _(Cool!)_" _

"_Luffy, one day, you too, will become a Captain. What will be your first step?"_

"_Find nakama of course! I can't sail the ship by myself!" _

"_And? What will you do after that?"_

"_I'll become the pirate king!"_

"_What if there are people who stop you from doing that?"_

"_No one can stop me!"_

_Staring at him seriously, Naruto easily broke the bundle of chopsticks into two, "What if there are?" _

"_A-ah…" _

"_What if someone appeared and defeated your entire crew? What will you do Luffy?"_

_The brat sat back down onto the log, crossing his arms and tilting his head, trying to think up a solution. It wasn't long before he arrived at one. _

"We'll all get stronger and defeat any that stand in our way! Everything will be just fine! Just you wait and see, Naruto! Shishishishi!"

Giving a nod of affirmation, Naruto smiled gently, "I will. Now go! This is your story! Go forth and live it!"

"Aye aye sir!" Returning him a mock salute, Monkey D. Luffy left Windmill Village with his trademark laughter echoing through the area.

X – X

"So he's finally gone, huh?" Naruto spoke in a quiet tone as the sail of the tiny boat slowly drifted out of the horizon.

"Yeah." Olivia stood beside him, a playful smile on her face, "I believe there will soon be pictures of him all over the newspaper."

"Haha! You're right, that brat's gonna be a handful." With a nostalgic expression his face, Naruto scratched the back of his head, reminiscing the good old times, before sighing, "I best be off then."

"Eh?" Makino gasped in surprise, "So soon? Shouldn't you at least rest for a day or two – "

"Makino, it's me we're talking about. I'm a bright ball of sunshine that never runs out of energy. Besides, I can just rest on the way. Don't worry about it."

"But still, I – "

"Give it up, Makino. You have yet to win against him when it comes to this. Let the boy do what he wants." Shaking her head wryly, Olivia smiled at the crestfallen look on Makino's face, "It's not like he's leaving forever. Come now, you're making him all sad too."

The green-haired girl blinked as she slowly lifted her head up, only to find the blond with a ridiculously funny 'sad' face staring right into hers, what with the puffy lips, squinty eyes and fake tears falling everywhere. The instant reaction was to laugh right at Naruto and give him a slap on the cheek, earning her an exaggerated howl of pain from the overreacting blond.

She knew it was all just an act to cheer her up since there was no way she could hit him _that_ hard, but even still, she couldn't help but stroke the red bump that appeared, "Aw, are you alright?"

And just like old times, Naruto would grab her hand and pull her into his arms, before spinning her in a huge wide circle, "Hell yeah!"

Olivia could only shake her head at the childishness of her surrogate son. He was a tall man of age twenty seven, with enough power to send pretty much everyone in this world running in fear if he so wished. Face it, anyone that can make thousands of clones of himself is a one man army, and yet this 'almighty' one-man army is acting like an idiot while he flirts with the gem of Windmill Village. Makino was well-loved by the villagers and was one of the more prominent figures available. Her care and concern along with her cheerful attitude everyday was able to bring smiles to all her customers and visitors, brightening their day with ease.

Many had speculated that Makino and Naruto would settle down eventually, start going out and have a few babies, but till now, neither of them showed signs of doing _any_ of that. From Olivia's standpoint, their relationship was a bit complicated. It was somewhere between love between siblings and love between different sexes. Makino was twenty seven as well, making her the same age as Naruto, and the two of them were a hand and glove fit for each other. Naruto cared for Makino in ways that made all the other housewives jealous, and Makino in turn cared for him in ways that made all the young men jealous.

Whenever Naruto was in the village, they would be seen together, laughing, joking, doing chores and all sorts of stuff. Their happiness usually permeated through the air, almost to the point of infectious, and any day with those two around you was a good day. Business went faster, work wasn't as tiring, the food they served tasted better, and all those other psychological stuff. It was clear Makino admired Naruto, and the tender gaze the blond would always have for her hinted at his feelings, but both of them knew that it couldn't happen, at least not now.

Naruto was still wild and roguish, always wanting to be on the move, always wanting to be doing something, whereas Makino was more down to earth, content with her everyday life, not really searching for any excitement. As a grown up lady, she realized the difference between the things one needed and the things one wanted. When she was young, she too dreamt of being swept off her legs by her prince charming, but with age, that possibility slowly faded away. Maintaining the bar took more out of her than she cared to admit, both monetary and physically wise. She loved her job, what with the bustling people that come and go, and the various kinds of people she would meet each day, but even then, there would be times when she wanted a break.

The blond had reprimanded her more than once that she could have a damn break anytime she wanted! She didn't need permission because it was _her_ bar! At least, that's what Naruto said. It was actually Naruto's bar, if one wanted to be strict. The previous owner had been looking to sell it since something came up in his hometown and he had to leave, so Naruto, being the nice guy that he was, came over and bought it off him. It was later when he realized that Makino was working there, that he gave the ownership of the bar to the woman. Naruto didn't want any profit from the sales, only the occasional drink of beer if he ever entered the bar.

The thing is, Makino never _accepted_ his offer. She continued to say that she was merely a bartender, not the owner, and that annoyed Naruto sometimes. It was quite cute, really. You see the owner of the bar insisting that the bar wasn't his and the supposed recipient of the bar vehemently denying it, emphasizing that she was merely an employee. These 'quarrels', if you could even call them that, would occur every time Naruto came back. Then they would always make up by doing that hugging spinning thing they were doing now.

"Naruto-san," Makino whispered softly as the spin came to a stop with her cozying in his arms, "I'll always be here, in your bar, waiting for you."

"I know." Nuzzling her hair lovingly, Naruto smiled, "And it's your bar, silly. Stop denying it. I've slipped the forms into your drawer already, you can't reject them anymore."

"What! How?"

"I got you drunk."

"Oh you… sneaky little bugger." Thumping her fists cutely on his chest, she struggled to leave his embrace, before he tightened it and pulled her close.

"You don't have to, you know. Wait for me, that is." His eyes were gentle and his smile slightly affectionate, "I'm not worth it."

"That is up to me to decide." Flicking his forehead, she laughed melodiously, "But don't worry, if I see a guy I like I'll snag him. It's your loss after all." Mischievous orbs of black glistened in the sunlight, as though daring him to say otherwise.

"Haha, yeah. You are pretty popular after all. I envy the guy that gets to – " His eyes widened as she silenced him with a kiss on the lips.

Slowly, the blond melted into it, his hands slipping to her hips, drawing him close to her as he tried to taste more of her. The heat was there, just like that night, the smooth texture of her skin, the pulsing passion within her body, the raw _need_ in her kiss.

"Then come back to me, Naruto-san." Her breath lightly brushing over his lips as she spoke in a dreamy manner, "I'll always be here for you."

Slowly lifting his face from hers, the blond replied with a proud smile on his face, "To you, I will." Hugging her tightly once more, Naruto ignored the cat-calls and cheers that permeated the air as several of the more outgoing villagers gave wolf-whistles as the two broke apart, with blushes on their faces. Some even went as far as to tease the blond for that, since it was a known fact that Naruto rarely _ever_ felt embarrassed about anything.

"Farewell." The goodbye was but a whisper in the wind as she ran back to the village, her face red-hot from the blushing.

The blond simply stood there, staring at her retreating figure as he lightly touched his lips, "So long… for now…"

"Soooo, would you care to share some details with your loving mother?"

"Eh?" Shaking himself out of his reverie, Naruto turned to face a smirking Olivia, "What?"

"I didn't ask you anything, but I think I have to now. What exactly happened that night?"

"W-what night? I-I have no i-idea what y-you're talking about." With shifty eyes, the blond tried to look at anything but his surrogate mother's face closing in on him.

"Come now, dear, tell me."

"About what?"

"Do you _really_ want me to say it?"

"… Do you know about it?"

"I might have some idea of what _might_ have happened."

"From what source?"

"A couple of misplaced objects and a woman's intuition."

"...!"

"Maybe that lingerie you have in your – "

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk, just don't go there!" Yelling in frustration, Naruto quickly made sure no one was eavesdropping on the conversation before turning back to Olivia, "You are evil."

Smiling in satisfaction, Olivia shrugged, "It's not my fault you youngsters don't clean up properly afterwards."

Sighing, Naruto scratched the back of his head, "It was late that night, we finally finished tidying up the bar. We sat down, started chatting and having some drinks. Then she got drunk, so I brought her back home since there was no one in her house. One thing led to another and we… made love."

Averting his gaze at the victorious aura Olivia was extruding, "I offered to marry her the next morning but she rejected, saying that it was her choice to give her first to me, and that she didn't want to burden me."

"She knew that I wasn't going to stay long in this village and that there were bigger things out there for me to do." Shaking his head, Naruto gave a wry smile, "After that, everything went on as normal, neither of us ever mentioning that again, but I still felt like an ass. I kept my façade on, and went about my life as I would, but…"

"Silly boy. That girl wanted for you to remember her and what better way than to give her most precious thing to you? She knew that she wasn't going to be the only woman in your life, so she had to take action. You could be gone from the village any day." Olivia laughed, "I always knew that girl had it in her. I'm proud that she dared reach out for what she wanted."

"… Wait, what?"

"Don't bother denying it. You, my boy, are destined to have many women. Everyone in this village thinks so. You should hear those housewife gossips, about how many women you have."

"Huh? What, I don't even, _what_?"

"Darling, it's time to stop thinking so lowly of your appearance, strength and riches and start facing reality. Do you even have an idea how many fangirls you have?"

"I have _fangirls_?"

"Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they don't exist." Brushing her hair to the side, Olivia continued, "Makino loves you. She doesn't want you to feel responsible or guilty. She wants you to love her back, and for that to happen, she is willing to wait. Do you understand, Naruto?"

"… Of course I do…" Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, the blond sighed once again, "I've always known. It doesn't mean I have to like it. I do love her, but she doesn't believe me. She keeps thinking that I'm lying to her about the marriage because I'm going to be gone soon, but that's not true. I don't just sleep with any woman because I lust after her. I would have rejected her if there wasn't – "

"She wants more than that. All women are selfish. They want the man they love to love them back wholeheartedly. No one likes to share, Naruto. How would you feel if the women you love slept with all those other men?"

"I'd freaking…" Clenching his fist, he closed his eyes, "Kaa-san, must we really go there? You know how I feel. I'm a man after all, I can't help it."

"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. Makino has chosen to wait for you after all, so let's respect her choice." Swatting him on the arm, the white-haired woman gave him a bright smile, "Now go! It's your time to shine! You've cooped yourself here for four years, time to go get some fresh air!"

"Heh, it wasn't really cooping myself up, I think these four years were a great help. If I hadn't taken this break, I wouldn't have understood a lot of things. Thank you, Kaa-san." Hugging her one final time, Naruto grinned, "I guess this is goodbye for now. I'll still pop by every now and then but – "

"Yes, yes, you've said this hundreds of times before. I can take care of myself, I'm your kaa-san after all."

"Haha, damn straight." Giving a few enthusiastic waves to the surrounding crowd, Naruto ended it with a salute, "Minna, Sayonara!" before he disappeared into a flash.

"Ah! We didn't even get to say goodbye properly!"

"That rogue!"

"You take care now!"

"We'll miss you!"

"Come visit us!"

Olivia stood there with her arms crossed, a serene look on her face, "There he goes… I've gotten quite used to having him around…"

"Sigh, all these young people and their journeys! Hmph, they'll soon realize that fun and excitement only goes so far! Youngsters nowadays!"

"Ara, Mayor-san, were you here all this time?"

"Hmph! That Namikaze, dumping all those money in my office, telling me to spread it out amongst the villagers, giving me more work to do!"

"Haha, again?"

"I know, right? I've told him time and time again, that we don't need all that money! As long as he stays in this village, we would all be a lot happier!"

"Aww, Mayor-san, you're sad now that Ace, Luffy and even Naruto are gone eh?"

"W-what? No! I'm n-not s-sad! I'm j-just …"

"It's okay Mayor. We all are." Raising her head to gaze at the bright blue sky, she spoke up with beaming confidence, "But they'll be back. Even the mightiest of birds need to return to their nests someday."

_Isn't that right, Ace, Luffy, and Naruto?_

* * *

_**And let's stop there. Sorry this was a bit rushed, just finished exam yesterday. Think of this chapter as an interlude to what's going to come next. Finally into Canon storyline. I probably won't go into every single bit for the early part because well, if I do, this fic will never end, just like the manga lol.**_

_**Review me and tell me your thoughts. Don't think too much about the Makino bit. Like I said, just an interlude. This is probably be gonna be a harem again… sigh, I know, I apologize, but I can't resist. But don't worry, I'll try not to go too overboard with it… **_


	7. Unexpected Discovery

_**A/N: Hey, s'up guys! Got a part-time job after the exams, and did a bit of good old relaxing, hence why I didn't really update lately lol. Well, I'm sure you guys understand. Anyway, so we're moving on with the plot. Like I said, not too much focus will be placed on the earlier parts of the manga. So sit back, relax and enjoy! =D**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto/One Piece/Nurarihyon no Mago/Persona. The last two, well, this applies if they appear. I put them in just in case.**_

* * *

A Whole New World

Chapter 6: Unexpected Discovery

"Next up for auction is…"

A boisterous voice permeated through the arena as he enthusiastically tried to sell his latest slave. The poor girl was chained up, quivering under the greedy gazes of the nobles and the rich within the audience. If she were to be bought, there would be no escape for her; such was the destiny of a slave.

Shaking her head in despair, she closed her eyes, not wanting to face the harsh reality that awaited her. She had simply been out on a fishing trip. Her dad had passed away years ago and her mum was currently bed-ridden by a terrible sickness, leaving her to do whatever she could to earn some money to try and keep her mother alive. Their village was one situated somewhere in the South Blue, one full of warriors capable of wielding any weapon that existed in this world. Yet that proved to be their downfall, because they were not that medically advanced and in recent years, they lost more warriors to illness and diseases than they did to human warfare.

Descended from the same ancestors as the long-armed tribe, they had similar skin and pupil colours, without the extra joint in the arms. Contrary to that, they actually lacked a certain ligament within their knees, which, miraculously allowed them incredible athleticism and leaping ability. Flexibility was also much improved, where some of the tribesmen took it to the point where they could pull in their general skeletal structure for up to a few hours, allowing them to _shrink_ to a smaller size when they needed to explore crevasses and small caves in the icy mountains.

So why was a girl capable of all of that and more, caught and chained up like a display item here in Sabaody Archipelago?

Simply said, she was tricked. Desperate to gain money to save her mother, a man had come up to her and told her that he was willing to pay for all of the medical fees if she were to follow him. Though she had her doubts, she had no other choice, medicine was not cheap nowadays and what she earned from selling fish barely allowed her to feed the family, much less buy medicine. The moment she stepped on his ship, she was surrounded and after a harsh combat, she was eventually overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies. A quick whack on the head and she was unconscious. The next thing she knew, she was here at the slave auction, helpless to do anything but bow her head.

She had seen what had happened to people who tried to remove the chains by force, and it wasn't pretty. As long as she was alive, she had a chance to escape. That was what she kept telling herself as she gritted her teeth against the lecherous jeers aimed at her. She was disgusted by the so-called nobles, who felt that they were above everyone else simply because they were born with money.

What did they know about hardship and adversities?

Who gave them the right to look down on poor people?

Why was life so damn unfair?

Those were questions of the ages, but sadly, there was no answer, because there will never be one, since life will always be unfair at times.

"Calling thrice! SOLD! Congratulations to this fine gentleman here!" The gavel was struck and in that moment, despair engulfed her being. This was it. She was to be sold off to some rich asshole that was going to rape her whenever he felt like it. She wasn't stupid. She could see all the way from here the drool that was leaking out of that fool's mouth and his hands making ridiculously perverted movements with his hands. Chances of her being innocent after one day with this man was about as likely as her being rescued…

"Thank you! Thank you very much! Now dearie, come on, let's go home!" Reaching his hand out to yank at her chains while maintaining a disgustingly cruel smile, the girl was about to give in to her 'fate' when a cold voice reverberated in the audience's ears.

"You're welcome, let me give you a couple of parting words, just so you know how I feel about this. FUCK YOU!"

"Eh?" The next thing the rich guy knew was an orb of blue flung at him at an incredible speed and then immense pain and agony followed by a whole lot of rubble falling on him was registered in his pain receptors. What the audience saw, was a gigantic hole now situated slightly to the left of a terrified auctioneer.

The girl in chains was surprisingly calm and stared at the new comer with a slight gleam in her eyes. She didn't think her new 'owner' had an enemy that would dare attack him on the island of Sabaody. The Marine Headquarters were quite close after all. Maybe if she went along with this enemy of his, she would be better off?

Slowly walking to the stage, with his spiky blond hair glowing slightly in the lights, the man gave a ferocious snarl at the auctioneer, "You've got balls, I tell you."

The poor man was currently shaking in his knees and wanted to be anywhere but here at this moment, "I-I was u-under o-orders of Sir D-doflami – "

"I don't give a _shit_ who you're working for. What did I tell you last time?"

"Y-you – "

"No more slave auctioning. I was pretty sure I burned this place down. It's kinda amazing to see you build it all up again." Speaking nonchalantly as the audience continued staring at him in confusion and curiosity, the blond scratched his head, "I think I should give a demonstration for them to get an idea of what I mean."

"_Katon: Karyuuendan!_ (Fire jutsu – Fire Blaze Dragon Missile)" As the name suggested, the entire arena was instantly engulfed in flames, eliciting shrieks of horror and fear as the audience started clawing their way out of the inferno. It was pretty interesting to watch the 'nobles' acting in manners so different from their usual dignified poise. Just for fun, Naruto sent them a _Fuuton: Fuuryuudan_ (Wind jutsu – Wind Dragon Missile) to fan the flames a bit more. Of course, it wasn't his intention to burn _any_ of them, he just wanted to burn down the arena. If one of the rich people got hurt because he didn't get out of the way in time, well, that wasn't his fault now, was it?

Turning back to the auctioneer who was currently trying to secretly crawl out of the arena, Naruto simply picked him up by the collar and flung him towards the tent, "Go put that stupid flamingo on the phone."

"H-hai!"

Shaking his head, Naruto then turned his attention towards the black-haired beauty currently staring at him in wondrous curiosity. It was somewhere between awe, surprise and wariness. You really couldn't blame the poor girl, how many people had the power and courage to simply walk into an auction for the rich, blast a crazy big-ass hole onto the wall and spout fire from his mouth. Not many in this world, since there really weren't that many fire-related devil fruits. Besides, the famed fire-fist Ace used his fists, not mouth.

"You look beaten-up." Sending an amused gaze her way, Naruto gave her a small smile, "Give me a few minutes and we'll be on our way."

Not even bothering to reply, the girl simply shook her head in exasperation.

"Oi! Is that stupid pink dude on yet?"

"H-hai! Yes, yes, Doflamingo-sama is ready to hear what you say." Handing over the den-den mushi with shaky hands, the auctioneer immediately retreated backwards, as though not wanting to know the outcome of the conversation.

"What's up flamingo, I believe we had a deal?"

"Fufufufu, we did? I'm sorry, I get a bit forgetful lately when the partner just ups and disappears for years on end."

"Don't give me that crap. I don't like people who break promises, you know that."

"Ah yes, but I didn't break any promise. Did I order that guy to start selling slaves? Ask him."

Naruto turned towards the auctioneer, raising an eyebrow as he asked, "You heard the man, I want an explanation."

"No! It wasn't my idea! It was – "

"The man is pleading innocent." Naruto spoke back into the den-den mushi.

"But was it my idea?"

"Was it?" Again, the question was aimed at the auctioneer.

"Ah… ah… n-no…" For some reason, his face turned quite blue after uttering those words, like he was forced to swallow a very sour lemon.

"Oh? So whose idea was it?"

"T-the T-Tenryuubito, Saint Roswald…"

Blinking, Naruto yelled at the phone, "You piece of shit, how dare you tip them off!"

"Fufufufu, I just wanted you to have some motivation into showing your face around more. It has gotten quite boring nowadays with nothing happening."

"I'm not joking around here. Mess around anymore, and I _will_ kill you. I'm not affected by your stupid puppetry, I've seen way better puppet masters than you, so don't even think about it."

"Sure thing. Is that all?"

"You're such a nice boss, aren't you? Not even gonna give your employee some final words before he departs for the afterlife?"

"Fufufufu, you are funny as always Uzumaki. I do not have time for weaklings like him. Do what you will."

"Keh, get outta here."

Hanging up in a swift move, Naruto turned back towards the auctioneer, and before he could even utter a word, Naruto kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying through whatever rubble was left of the wall with an easy Rankyaku.

Muttering curses as he turned back towards the girl, he reached out absently for her collar, and before she even realized it, the collar was ripped to shreds and flung into the inferno around them, "There, you're free now. Wanna go get a bite with me?"

Unable to grasp the turn of events just yet, still thinking that this was all just some joke between those crazy nobles, the young woman simply ignored the blond, focusing instead on how to remove her chains. Now that all the guards were gone, this was her chance to escape, but as long as this time-bomb was on her, there was no way for her to be free. If only she had her scythe, then she could easily slice through this…

"You do realize your stomach is growling right?"

She had about a second before the thing exploded. If only she could cut through the steel there shouldn't be too much of a problem. Besides, it wasn't like an explosion from point blank range will kill her.

It would only cripple her.

That wasn't as bad as being ravished like a Barbie doll by perverts now, was it?

"And just what, may I ask, is a Barbie doll?" The blond continued to be amused by the random mutterings of the woman.

Growling as she tried to figure out ways in which she could first _find_ her scythe, then use it, her mumbles gradually grew darker and more depressed since she had no recollection of where the heck her weapon might be since the moment she woke up she found herself being the eye-candy for tons of sexist males.

"Oh yeah, by the way, I found this in their warehouse, not sure if you know how to use it, but at least it's better than nothing, right?"

_Clang._

It took her about five seconds to understand the reality around her.

One - Her precious scythe had just been flung onto the floor before her.

Two – This guy just insinuated that she _didn't _ know how to use this baby.

Three – She now had a damn weapon.

Conclusion – Let's do this shit!

Without another moment of hesitation, the black-haired woman easily lifted the gleaming scythe into her right hand, spinning it deftly within her palm and let it fly as she tilted her head to the left.

In some ways, it looked like she was about to decapitate herself, which would kinda explain why Naruto deadpanned with a huge sweatdrop. It was quite bewildering to see her try to kill herself even though he had already told her he was taking her out to lunch once they got out of this hellhole. I mean, sure, she probably didn't want a date at this particular moment, but that was just a figure of speech!

Just as the woman was expecting the explosion, a hand reached over to her and easily dragged her out of the way of the blast. With her eyes tightly closed and awaiting the resounding boom that was supposed to break every single bone in her body and make her wish she was never born, she was weirdly surprised to realize that the boom was a small one, coming from within the auction hall.

Wait, she was _in _the auction hall when she cleaved the damn chain…

"Ah, so that's what you were trying to do. I knew it was a bit weird when you would rather turn down my lunch offer to kill yourself instead. I'm not that handsome yes, but I'm not that repulsive either."

Turning her head around to analyze this blond enigma once again, she finally uttered, "Who the _hell_ are you?"

Deadpanning, Naruto shook his head before sighing, "Let's just go to lunch. On the count of three."

"How did you just pull me out of the building?"

"Three."

"Huh, what – "

And in a flash of yellow, they were gone, leaving what once used to be the auction building to crash and burn.

X – X

"Naruto-chan, you don't change, do you?" The slim and tall woman with short black hair took in a deep puff of cigarette before she smiled wryly, "Now why don't you put me down?"

The first thing Naruto had done the moment he entered Shakky's Rip-Off bar was pull the woman he considered one of his parental figures into a big hug and swing her around. It had been four years since he even had a word with this special woman.

"Hell no. My hugs are awesome, you should feel honored to even have me hugging you." His mischievous smile and roguish tone was quite a huge contrast to his serious expression just moments ago, and it left the female slave to wonder just how many masks this guy was wearing.

"Oh put me down you oaf and let me get a good look at you." Returning a wide smirk of her own, she easily maneuvered her body out of his hands and landed gently on the ground, before circling around him, "Hm, you're been working hard."

Grinning, the blond even went through a few poses, eliciting more laughter out of the woman, "Alright, alright, I'll stop. I don't want Rayleigh to think I'm hitting on you, as young and sexy as you are."

"Please, flattery will get you nowhere. Have you had lunch yet?" Shakky was already at the refrigerator, plucking random things out, ready to cook the moment she got her answer.

"Nope. Two huge lunches please, this girl over here could probably eat a whale right now."

"Ah yes, you have yet to introduce her to me. You poor thing, they haven't been feeding you properly, have they?" Shakky went over and fussed all over the slave-girl, who was all but shell-shocked by her concern.

"You haven't been hurt by that brute have you? You have to forgive him for all his crazy acts. He's a nice little boy on the inside with the best of intentions but sometimes his execution just drives people insane." Smoothening out the ruffled hair of the girl, Shakky did her best imitation of a mother trying to tell her child to stay away from dangerous individuals.

"Oi." The exasperated expression was all Shakky needed before she went back to the kitchen.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto gave a small smile, "Sorry if I seemed a bit aggressive at the auction, I just don't like to see people being enslaved and sold like objects. I'll introduce myself, my name is Naruto. That woman you just met is Shakky, who cooks the best omelet there ever was."

"I'm not giving you extra eggs for that compliment."

"Awww, well it's not like I'm lying or anything, the omelets you make are awesome."

"_That_ will get you extra eggs."

"Yay ya!" Grinning from ear to ear, the blond then turned back to the dumbfounded woman, "Well? Wanna introduce yourself?"

Silence reigned for about a minute or so, before she spoke in a quiet tone, "Sei."

"Eh?"

"My name. It's Sei." Staring back at Naruto with her ruby eyes, she continued, "Why did you rescue me?"

Chuckling in amusement, Shakky cracked a couple of eggs into the frying pan, "Dear, I bet you think there is some complicated ulterior motive to this, but unfortunately," Shaking her head in the blond's direction, she laughed, "This idiot over here is pretty simple-minded."

"Yes, yes, I'm idiot, I get that enough from you women." Facing Sei, he shrugged, "She's right. I went there to let off some steam. I blew that place up a few years ago and to see it back up again pissed me off. You were just at the right place at the right time, for you at least. Don't read too much into it, the only factor that might have played a role in me rescuing you might be your state of dress and pretty face. You did play the role of the distressed damsel well, what with you being all chained up and depressed."

"This isn't a joking matter! You think you can just come over and grab me, save me from that hellhole and just pretend that nothing important just happened? What is wrong with you? How is this funny at all?" Her yells were filled with agony and pain for some reason. That particular reason was unknown to Naruto since he had absolutely no idea why someone would feel so shocked and hurt at being rescued.

It wasn't like he rescued her to kill her or something, he just thought it would be a nice way to do a good deed and let this girl go. This lunch thing was just because she looked absolutely exhausted and weak.

Since this was Naruto, a very straightforward individual who usually threw caution to the winds when he opened his mouth, his answer was exactly that.

"Erm, why are you so upset?" The fact that he had a raised eyebrow made his confusion all the more obvious.

"I was about to be auctioned for an amount of money! That money could have been used to save my mom! I could have escaped from that rich piece of shit somehow!" Her voice was rising by the second, her anxiety rolling off her in waves, "Now what do I do? They're gonna think you're my accomplice and give me a bounty! I'll never make it back home!"

Clearly, this woman was a complete wreck, physically and mentally.

With a quick chop to her neck, she was sent into blissful unconsciousness, before Naruto lifted her gently onto the bed.

"I will never understand women."

X – X

"Are you serious? There's only the two of us in your crew right now?" A certain green-haired swordsman yelled in disbelief as he pointed at the tiny boat that was currently roped to the dock, "You want to go to the Grand Line on _this_?"

"Hehehe! Yea!"

"Don't gimme that 'yea' crap! You can't be serious!"

"But I am! I got myself here, didn't I?" A certain straw-hat rubber man had his smile on at maximum voltage.

"You got here by sheer _luck_! You can't even tell north south east west out there!"

"Shishishi! I know, right?"

"That's not something to be proud of!"

"Hehehehe!"

"Stop giggling!"

"Luffy-san!" A childish voice rang through the area as a boy with short pink hair ran towards them.

"Oooh! Coby!"

"Arigato gozaimashita! _(Thank you very much!)_" Skidding to a halt and giving a perfect ninety-degree bow, he yelled out at the top of his lungs, "I won't let you down, Luffy-san! I will do it! I will reach my goal! And one day! One day we'll meet out there, in the Grand Line!"

"Hehehe! Gotcha! Ganbare!" Cheerful waves were sent back his way as tears flowed down his cheeks in torrents.

"Sayonara!"

"Salute!"

"Eh?"

To Coby's surprise, a whole platoon of marines stood beside him, in a perfect military salute, sending off the two heroes that had saved them from Morgan's 'evil' grasp. Now, they were back to being normal marines, ready to defend the town without having to bow to unreasonable and despicable people.

Snapping out of his surprise, the pink-haired boy, too, brought his right hand to his temple and gave a salute to the man that saved his life.

_Luffy-san! Thank you very much! I won't ever forget what you did for me today! Let's both aim for our dreams! I swear, the next time you see me, I'd have become a man that is worth your time!_

"Jaaaaaaa neeeeeeee!" Was the goodbye that echoed through the oceans, signaling the leave of the first two members of the soon-to-be Straw Hat Pirates.

X – X

It would be a few more hours before Sei woke up. Contrary to her expectations of the cold cell and rotting food, she was surprised by the warm bed and the sweet aroma of tasty dinner by her bed.

The sight of yellow hair brought back memories of the rescue and their conversation before she fainted, if you could even call that a conversation.

"Eat up. You must be hungry. We can talk later." His voice was gentle and soothing, his words calming her down as she slowly reached for the spoon.

"I not as great a cook as Shakky when it comes to breakfast, but if it's lunch or dinner, I'm alright. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just made some seafood fried rice."

She took the plate he handed her, simply staring at the food before she started to dig in.

This woman was exactly like Naruto expected. Even when she was hungry, she would still eat with an elegance and grace that one just didn't expect from a warrior like her. If Naruto was as hungry as she was, he would probably have swallowed the plate in one gulp, but here she was, spooning the rice into her mouth slowly and neatly, actually tasting the food in her mouth before swallowing.

"So, is it edible?" The corner of his mouth was lifted as he continued to observe the girl."

"This is… delicious." Her tone never changed but Naruto could feel the appreciation that just lit up in her eyes.

He knew she was tired. Taking it upon himself to find out what was bothering this girl, he had tapped into her mind and sifted through some of her recent memories. It was technically unethical to do that but when the girl was about to break down simply because he had saved her, then he would be damned if he didn't at least find out what he could do to help her.

"Thank you." Soft words reverberated around the room.

Naruto simply rested his chin on the back of his hands as he stayed by her bedside, looking at her as though trying to see through a puzzle, "You're welcome."

The black-haired beauty laid down the spoon and gave him a wry smile, "I… need to apologize. I should have said those words hours ago."

Waving his hand to dismiss her apology, Naruto spoke, "Nah, it's alright. If I were caged up like a wild animal before that I would have freaked too. Besides, you've got a lot of things on your mind back then, so don't worry too much about it. Finish this, and I'll bring you up to date as to what I've done while you were sleeping."

"Hm." Just like that, she resumed her food consumption process, her hands resuming their delicate motions as the blond continued to watch over her.

_I never knew eating could be such a beautiful thing to watch. _

_Well what do ya know, that's another thing females are better at than males._

_Heh, I wonder if she'll leave some of that rice for me, I'm getting kinda hungry after watching her eat. _

X – X

"So, what do you do for a living?"

"Oh, I'm a pirate! And I'm gonna be the King of the pirates!" The rubberman declared in a confident tone.

"I see. Well I have to tell you." The teenage girl with orange hair yelled right back into his face, "I hate pirates!"

"Eeeeehhhhhh?"

X – X

It turned out that Sei left absolutely nothing for Naruto (since she had no idea he wanted any). She had regained some strength and energy from that dish and was now ready for whatever information Naruto had for her. Or so she thought.

It was five minutes into the conversation and already she was about to freak.

"You _cured_ my mum's disease?"

"Well yeah. I mean, it was kinda serious, right? So being nice guy that I am, I got a clone over there to check out what she was suffering from."

"How did you even know my mum was sick?"

"I took a look into your memories and – "

"You _what_?"

" – got her location and off I went. It wasn't that hard to cure, but she has got to rest more. Working day in and day out is not going to help her."

"What, I don't even, I just, _what?_"

"Oh yeah, and I paid off whatever debt you guys owed. Had a bit of fun blowing up certain companies in the midst of the process too."

"…"

"Despite your mother's protests, I insisted on leaving her enough money for her to spend the rest of her life by. I told her it was my way of 'hiring' her daughter, since there was no other way she would take the money."

"… …"

"She wanted me to tell you that she loved you and that she is feeling fantastic." Smiling, Naruto placed a hand under his chin, "Whether or not that is true, you will find out for yourself with me in about an hour."

"…. How?" She seemed tired once again, not even bothering to voice the countless number of questions within her brain at this moment.

"With this."

He took out a knife-like thing, as though that was supposed to answer her question.

"I hate you. I just wanted you to know that."

_Wow, harsh girl. Harsh._

X – X

"You big, fat, red _NOSE!_" That volume of that roar soared through the skies as everyone else in the area had their jaws locked firmly to the ground at the nerve of this absolute _idiot_ for saying that.

"Who… the… fuck… ARE YOU CALLING BIG FAT RED NOSE? FIRE! FIRE THE GODDAMN BUGGY BALL! FIREEEEEE!"

"Why the heck did you say that? You just angered him!" The same orange-haired girl from before yelled at the rubberman.

"Hn! I'm not afraid of his stupid ball!"

"Argh! I don't believe you!"

"Gomu gomu no… Fuusen! _(Rubber Rubber Balloon)_"

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Needless to say, Nami was very surprised to see the actions of this pirate whom she first thought was an idiot, then an asshole, then back to a moron and now this. She had run out of words to even describe this crazy man. She shall settle for a simple shout.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

"I'm a rubber man! I can stretch myself as much as I want!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

X – X

"Mom, you really are better!" Sei could only stare at her mother in awe as her once bed-ridden mom was currently up and walking with no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

"Haha, I know! That's the exact expression I had when he told me." Pulling her daughter into a warm embrace, she let her hand sift through her soft black hair, "So? Have you come to a decision yet?"

Comfortable in her mother's hug, Sei gave a soft sigh as she closed her eyes, "I don't know. I just… don't know."

Chuckling, Fei continued, "Of course you don't. You always thought too much about everything."

"Mom!" Not at all pleased to hear the teasing tone in her mother's voice, Sei stood back with a frown, "How is this overthinking? He just came out of nowhere – "

"Saved you, gave you food, healed your mother and destroyed any debt that we might owe. He must be a _baaaad_ man."

" – got me out and just started taking care of all these things! He didn't even ask for my permission or thoughts! I feel like a puppet!"

"Yes dear, I'm sorry for being so healthy again, I apologize."

"MOM!"

"Haha, you are just too fun to tease."

"Aren't you afraid that he has something behind all these? What if he wanted something from the village? Or you? Or – "

"Dear, it's clear that he's doing all this for you. Aww, look at you, blushing and all."

"Mom! I'm not blushing!"

"Oh really, I must be getting old then. What's that red make-up you're wearing on your cheeks then?"

"Moooooom!"

Fei took her precious daughter's face between her hands and gave her a quick shake, "Stop being so suspicious. My daughter is strong, beautiful and sexy, it's only normal for a man to lust after – "

"I am _not_ having this conversation with my mother!" Struggling to get out of her mother's surprisingly strong grasp, she was reminded of the fact that it was her mother who taught her everything she knew.

And the fact that her mother really was back to full strength.

Which of course brought her mind back to the man that haunted her thoughts.

Well, haunted was a bit harsh.

_Pestered_.

Yes, that's better. Pestered.

Like a pest.

"Oh you silly girl. That nice young fellow had a long talk with me about what he felt about your skills and asked for permission to borrow you for a few years. I have agreed."

"_WHAT?_"

"It was a good deal! I get myself a son-in-law and earn a few years of peace and quiet to myself!" Her devious grin was a complete contrast to the flabbergasted gape of her daughter.

"How could you just sell me off! You need me here, mother! You can't expect to still work! He said so himself! You cannot tire yourself out – "

"And who said I'll tire myself out here, hm?" For some reason, she looked real smug.

"Well where else would you…" Sei stopped halfway, her eyes widening as she started mumbling, "No… no no no no no no… oh hell no."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"Hey I'm only in my forties, I can still kick lots of butt."

"MOM!"

"Relax, it's not like I'm _going_ to do anything dangerous."

"What did he ask from you?"

"Oh, just to go to a little village in East Blue. The weather there is wonderful and I heard the people there are simply lovely – "

"You know what I mean mom. What is the job he offered?"

"Sigh, he would like for me to guard someone. He has reassured me countless times that something probably wouldn't ever come up but he wanted to hire me just in case. Besides, I heard the client is a very talented and knowledgeable lady. It would be quite a change from what we have here. I would have company and – "

"Mom." Her voice suddenly grew soft, her eyes tearing up, "You don't have to do this."

Smiling slightly as she gathered her daughter back into her arms, she spoke in a soothing voice, "You've worked far too hard with me all these years. I know my limits and as much as I have pushed myself, I knew when to stop. I have experience on my side. You, my dear, do not." Smoothening out her hair, Fei grinned, "I'm a Zhang. I'll be fine."

"I'll miss you…" For some reason, she couldn't control the tears flowing down her cheeks. She was just worried.

She had been by her mother's side for more than a few years and the weakness, the helplessness and the absolute despair she had seen in her mother had led her to forget the warrior that was her mother. All these years, they did everything together, faced everything together and used each other as pillars of strength. Now, her mother was up and healthy, ready to get back all those lost years, and she knew, it was time for them to part again.

Warriors of their village left their family at the age of fourteen, forcing them to go out and survive on their own. They are not to return until the age of twenty. Sei was an exception. She had left at eighteen and came back in just one year, when news of her mother's illness worsening reached her. She was now at the age of twenty-three, meaning she was the prime of her life. Now was the time for her to find a partner or master, one that she could trust her life with, one she was willing to serve.

"There is a reason he appeared before you that day, my child. You know it." Her eyes were filled with love as she gazed straight into those ruby orbs, "Believe in fate, and believe in yourself. You already have an answer, don't you?" Tapping her heart lightly, she smiled, "Go with him."

"But I…" Biting her lip, she continued, "I don't even _know_ him."

Chuckling, Fei stroked her hair, "That's just an excuse, and you know it."

"Sigh… I don't know how you guys do it. You just read me like I'm an open book."

"Oh? Naruto can do it too?"

"Why do you just assume it's him?"

"Well, who else is there?"

"I… That's… Oh I give up." Flinging her arms into the air before she felt the need to rip some hair off, Sei released an exasperated growl.

"Give up on what?" A familiar voice entered the room without warning.

"Oh my gosh!" Freaking out slightly at the sudden appearance of the blond, Sei crossed her arms before her bosom and roared, "What happened to privacy of women?"

"Well, you guys were in here for quite a while, so I just thought I should check up on you. So, you ready to go?" That wide grin of his was quite contagious and even Sei couldn't feel angry anymore after a few moments.

"… Yes. Yes, I am." In that moment, a change occurred within her mentally wise. Suddenly she was ready to accept whatever new challenge that might come her way. She had decided to trust this strange man before her, who had gone through so much trouble just to help her.

Sei wasn't one to believe in love at first sight, especially since Naruto showed little to no signs of interest in that department with regards to her. She had no money, a very bleak future and maybe some fighting skills that would help him but to be honest, she had nothing. Naruto had chosen to take her on as a prospect with pretty much potential being the main factor, at least that's what she thought. If he had wanted to cheat her or get her body or whatever, he could have done it ages ago, and even if he really did want her body, she had considered giving it to him just because he healed her mother. That in itself was enough to ask anything of her.

Naruto smiled as he stared at mother and daughter before her, "Sweet. Well, I've got my kunai and clone. Ladies, hop on."

"What, now? Don't I need to pack and – " Sei was obviously still confused since she forgot Naruto was really good at something.

"Nah, I've taken care of all that for you. I even brought your favorite pajamas so it should be alright. I have to say, that is some fine taste." Wink wink, blink blink.

There we go, her face just went 'poof' into a cloud of red.

"_You looked at my lingerie?"_

"I would like to say it was unintentional, but..." Shrug, "Yeah, I did. Didn't figure you to be so bold, heh."

Clenching her fists, those gorgeous crimson eyes took on a dangerous edge as she glared right at her soon-to-be partner, "You are _dead_."

"Erm, no, I'm alive. Contrary to popular belief, I am not an undead. I won't be killed by garlic, holy crosses, silver and whatever else you associate with undead. You could throw gold at me to try, but I'll just end up spending it. So yeah." Speaking in a nonchalant manner, Naruto gestured towards Fei and smiled, "I'll meet you with you in about a day or two. Until then, my helpful assistant here will take good care of you, won't you, Mr. Clone."

"Boss. You're weird." Said clone gave him a skeptical glance as Fei gracefully accepted his hand.

"Yeah I know. Off with ya."

And before Sei had time to say another word to her mother, Fei had disappeared in a flash of yellow. All she saw last was a teasing grin that spoke volumes for her situation.

_You're going to have your hands full with this one._

Turning back to her, Naruto gave her a wide smirk, "Well come on! I haven't got all day. Show me what you got!"

Sei remained silent for but a second, before she summoned her weapon out of thin air, as though pulling it out from a separate realm, "I'll have you know that there's a reason people call that 'famous last words'."

X – X

"My name is Captaaaaaaaaaaaain USOPP! You lowly pirates! Stand back and run if you even think about invading my village! I have eight thousand men within this forest, ready to take you out any moment!" A certain long-nosed individual boasted.

"Eight thousand? SUGEIIIII! _(So pro!)_"

"There's only three of them, isn't there." Zoro pointed to the bushes as he deadpanned.

"Giku. _(Equivalent to a gulp and shiver, sound effect when character gets caught lying)_"

Nami simply yawned as she shrugged, "They're all brats too."

"Giku giku."

"Ehhh? That's not even fun! I wanna beat up eight thousand people! Hey you! Get down here! I'll show you what a real pirate is!" The rubberman pulled down his straw hat to shade his eyes, creating an ominous atmosphere.

The green-haired swordsman unsheathed one of his katanas, taking on a devilish grin, "You do realize what happens to people that lie to pirates right?"

Just staring at those eyes, the long-nosed individual felt fear creeping into his heart, almost to the point of strangling him, and with that, he fell to the ground with shaky legs.

X – X

Only a few hours had passed, and Fei was just getting settled with Olivia after introducing herself and it didn't take long before both of them started chatting about a certain blond. Unlike with Olivia, Naruto never really had the time to fully introduce himself to Fei, so instead, Naruto brought her through a short journey within his memories, showing her bits and pieces to allow her to understand who he really was and what he intended to do.

If he wanted to change the marines, he was going to need a hell of a lot more allies than certain pirates alone. Overtaking a government was hard work, much less _the_ World Government. He would take any and every opportunity placed before him, and given his experience he had all sorts of ways to gain allies.

He had his charming smile, dashing looks, chubby face. That's the 'handsome' and 'cute' department covered.

He had his muscular body, his spiky blond hair and his whisker marks. That's the 'sexy' department covered. He also had another part of his anatomy that he was really proud of but seeing how this was for general ally appeal, he didn't need that yet. That part was reserved for the ladies only.

He had his fighting skills, social skills and political skills. That covered pretty much everything else.

So with all these tools at hand, all that was left was for him to find allies. Zhang Sei was just an awesome and lucky find for him, allowing him to interact with the entire Shu tribe present in the South blue. To his knowledge, there were two other tribes not far away from them and they were constantly at war with one another, Wu and Wei, they said. It probably wasn't completely fair to call them tribes. In actual fact, as Fei told him, they technically made up a country, one that was split up in three due to different ideals and values between the three leaders. However because they never registered themselves with the World Government as a 'legal' country, they were not recognized and hence were merely thought to be tribes.

After countless enquiries with the situation of the Shu tribe, Naruto had asked to negotiate with their leader.

It was pure coincidence that Fei was the leader.

Things just moved on from there. Naruto, as a sign of good faith, went onto cure every single disease or illness within their tribes, just to prove to Fei that he had the ability to protect, guide and sculpture Sei into the warrior that she will eventually become.

In a way, an alliance was formed as the people of Shu adored him. In mere hours, he had them on his side, his humorous actions, his open mind and the happy-go-lucky aura he exuded had them cheering him on in no time. Of course, him saving their lives might have had something to do with it.

His final request was bold and shocked most of the villagers.

He had wanted their leader, Fei, to help him guard someone.

The next shock came when their leader agreed without hesitation.

Her only request was to fight Naruto in a one-on-one match, just to get a feel for his skills.

What happened that day would forever be etched in the minds of the warriors of Shu, because that was a match none of them expected. Their leader, before falling ill, had always been the epitome of strength and skill, and watching this young man match her blow for blow came as a complete surprise to them.

Naruto assumed that her strength could easily rival that of a Shichibukai. That prowess with the spear was unbelievable. He had thought his use of weapons was good enough, but compared to her, boy, was he mistaken. He still won in the end, but even then, he was more than impressed by her skill.

He had decided to visit the Wu and Wei tribes at some point so as to get a good feel of what was happening between the three. If possible, he really wanted to erase any hard feelings amongst them and while most would call him crazy for wanting to diffuse chaos just like that, he himself knew that it was still better to try than do nothing at all.

Expressing these thoughts to Fei only strengthened the woman's decision to work for him. For years, Fei had tried to lead the Shu tribe and had achieved success to some extent. But she knew that it just wasn't enough. They needed a true leader, one with the heart, the mind and the body to successfully achieve the dream of the ancestors of Shu, Wei and Wu, the uniting of all three to form the once great Country of Han.

She was convinced that Naruto was that person, and if anyone could diffuse the differences between them, it was Naruto. Having understood what he had been through all his lives, she was deeply touched by his determination and will. Just like all the other females, a maternal instinct rose within her, calling at her to protect this man, to try and ease the pain that he had already been through.

Olivia was pleasantly surprised by her arrival and was more than happy to accept her, not as a bodyguard, but as a friend. Fei wanted to know more about Naruto and Olivia wanted to talk more about Naruto. There was no doubt that their topic will revolve around Naruto for quite some time, that's for sure.

When Naruto appeared a few hours after her arrival, she was surprised to see scratches and bite marks on his arms. The blond had deadpanned that her daughter was a very despicable warrior, resorting to finger nails and teeth when he had taken away her weapon.

Watching his expression, Fei couldn't help but chuckle.

_He is the one. I just know he is. You are very lucky Sei, to have this young man enter your life. I wonder, to what heights will he take you? And to what distance will you take him? _

X – X

Three shivering kids asked the three pirates (they didn't know Nami wasn't one) in shaky voices, "W-w-what happened t-to o-our ca-captain?"

In the same ominous aura they used when they first met, Zoro laughed as he chugged down more booze, "We… _ate_… your captain."

It took a while for that fact to register before all three kids turned to the 'innocent' orange-haired girl, "WAAAAAH! O-BAKE! _(YOU MONSTER!)_"

"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?"

* * *

_**And cut. It's a bit short I know, but it's kinda another interlude, haha. I'm just trying to set the base for things and then moving the Straw Hat pirates along while I do that. Review and tell me what you think. **_

_**P.S. I couldn't resist pulling another game into this fic. It's just too fun. Heh. **_


End file.
